India escaped US immigrant visa pause affecting 75 nations: Experts explain

The US has paused immigrant visas for 75 countries, but experts say India's low welfare use makes its inclusion unlikely

US President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday announced that it is suspending the processing of immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries, including Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. India has been left out of the list, prompting questions on social media about whether it could be added later. Immigration experts say that is unlikely.

 

Why did the US pause immigrant visas?

 

An internal State Department cable, reviewed by Reuters, points to a wide-ranging review of policies, regulations and guidance to tighten screening and vetting of immigrant visa applicants.

 

The document flags that nationals from the listed countries show higher rates of applying for public benefits in the US. It categorises them as high risk of becoming “public charges” and drawing on local, state and federal resources. Under US immigration rules, a visa or Green Card applicant can be denied if authorities believe the person is likely to depend mainly on government assistance for basic living needs.

 

Why India is not on the list

 

Addressing the speculation, US-based immigration attorney Steven Brown wrote on social media that India is very unlikely to face a visa freeze because Indian migrants have low rates of welfare usage in the US.

 

Author and journalist Sadanand Dhume echoed that view on X. “Migrants from India have extremely low welfare dependency rates, both in the US, and in Europe. It would be bonkers to include India in the list if the point is to crack down on groups who place a burden on the welfare net,” he wrote.

 

Brown added that while nothing is permanent, the current freeze mirrors the Trump administration’s focus on countries perceived to rely more heavily on government resources. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan are among the South Asian countries on the list. Afghanistan had already been subject to a travel ban, while the others are new additions. India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have been excluded.

 

What the welfare rules say

 

Immigration lawyers also point out that most legal immigrants do not have immediate access to US welfare benefits.

 

“Legal immigrants cannot obtain any welfare of any kind until they become US citizens or for five years after entry, whichever comes first,” immigration attorney Charles Kuck wrote on X. “Further, legal immigrants have a contract with the sponsor and the US government that allows the US government to recover from the sponsor any welfare-related payments made for 10 years after entry or until the person is a US citizen.”

 

Trump visa crackdown hits India’s neighbours

 

Brown said the US president has wide powers under Section 212(f) of immigration law to deny entry to groups of foreign nationals. He pointed to the travel restrictions imposed during Trump’s first term, including the so-called Muslim ban.

 

“There can be no certainty about what comes next,” he said, adding that the current freeze is tied to the administration’s view of welfare use by migrants.

 

The State Department said the pause will remain in place until the US is satisfied that new immigrants will not “extract wealth from the American people”. The decision follows allegations of a major welfare fraud case in Minnesota involving Somali immigrants.

 

Travel ban versus visa freeze

 

In December 2025, the administration issued a separate list of 39 countries whose nationals are either fully or partially banned from travelling to the US.

 

Many of those countries also appear on the new list of 75. The key difference is that the immigrant visa freeze does not apply to tourists, students or people travelling to the US for work. It affects those seeking permanent residency or Green Cards.

 

39 travel ban countries

 

Under the full travel ban are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Palestinian Authority travel document holders. Countries under the partial ban are Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

 

75 visa freeze countries

 

The immigrant visa freeze applies to Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Myanmar, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, North Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.