On January 14, the State Department announced that it will be suspending immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including Brazil, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, and Yemen, whose foreign nationals, according to the State Department, “take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.” State explained that the “freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.”
The freeze, which took effect on January 21, does not affect tourist/visitor or non-immigrant student and scholar visas.