The United States will suspend immigrant visa processing for citizens of 75 countries starting January 21, but the Philippines is not affected. Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez confirmed that Filipinos are not included in this measure. The policy seeks to reassess screening procedures under the public charge provision of immigration law.
The US State Department announced a halt to immigrant visa applications from 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, and Somalia, effective January 21. This builds on broader immigration and travel bans under President Trump's second term affecting nearly 40 countries. However, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez told Philstar.com on January 15 that 'Filipinos [are] not included.'
The State Department's statement claimed that migrants from the targeted countries 'take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.' The suspension applies solely to immigrant visas for permanent residency, sparing tourist and business visas. It will remain in effect until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not 'extract wealth from the American people,' as stated in an X post.
The policy was first revealed through an internal memo obtained by Fox News and publicly confirmed on January 14. A separate directive to US embassies and consulates requires screening even non-immigrant visa applicants for potential use of public benefits.
The Philippines ranks among the top sources of immigrants to the US, with over 4 million Filipino Americans forming the third-largest Asian American community, mainly in California, Hawaii, and Texas. Although spared from this suspension, Filipinos have faced Trump's immigration measures before. In May of the previous year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a group of Filipino teachers in Maui during a five-year exchange program to address Hawaii's teacher shortage, rousting them from their beds at gunpoint in search of a felon who was not present.
