WASHINGTON, D.C. — Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06) joined 74 of her colleagues in calling on Secretary Marco Rubio and Secretary Kristi Noem to reverse course on their decision to indefinitely halt immigrant visa processing for 75 countries.

On January 21, the Trump administration suspended immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, including more than a dozen countries in Asia. The U.S. visa suspension affects immediate relatives of U.S citizens as well as all family-sponsored, employer-sponsored, religious worker, diversity, and returning resident visas. 44 percent of Asian immigrant visa holders—over 135,000 individuals—will be affected by this policy change.

'The Trump administration's decision to halt visas for nearly 40 percent of the world is ignorant and xenophobic. They have the audacity to tell immigrants to come here the 'right way,' while deliberately closing legal pathways that make that possible,' said Rep. Grace Meng, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. 'This cruel policy leaves immigrants—who have been thoroughly vetted and have waited years to lawfully enter the Untied States—stuck in limbo. I join my colleagues in demanding that the administration reverse this decision immediately.'

The indefinite pause will block nearly half of all legal immigrants from entering the U.S. over the next year. Individuals from the affected countries represent 40 to 45 percent of all immigrant visas. With no clear timeline for resuming processing, the suspension will undoubtedly separate families, prohibit individuals who have completed the necessary steps to legally come to the U.S., and harm small businesses by stifling their growth.

The State Department justified the move by claiming foreign nationals from the impacted countries may be more likely to seek federally funded public benefits in the Untied States and become a 'public charge,' despite longstanding restrictions that already prohibit immigrant visa recipients from accessing said benefits.

This decision is part of a broader and intensifying crackdown on legal immigration pathways by the Trump administration. Some of the coutnries targeted by the new immigrant visa ban, including Afghanistan, Laos, and Myanmar, already face partial or full restrictions on nonimmigrant visas. Other Asian and Pacific Islander nations were recently added to the expanded visa bond program that requires recipients of nonimmigrant visas, such as tourists and businesst ravelers, to pay up to $15,000 to secure their visa. These financial barriers will make t nearly impossible for relatives overseas to visit family members in the Untied States.

In September, the Trump administration abruptly announced a $100,000 fee on new H-1B skilled worker visa applications, disproportionately impacting Indian professionals who make up the majority of H-1B holders and leaving many scrambling to return to the U.S from visiting family. The administration has since moved to expand social media screening for H-1B and H-4 applicants, extending visa stamping delays through 2027 and leaving thousands of Indian workers and families stuck overseas.

The administration has also revoked more than 100,000 visas, attacked birthright citizenship, halted all asylum decisions, and even canceled naturalization ceremonies for those on the verge of gaining U.S. citizenship.

The letter was signed by 75 Members of Congress, including CAPAC Chair Grace Meng, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, Reps. Rtchie Torres, Yassamin Ansari; Gabe Amo; Wesley Bell; Shontel M. Brown; André Carson; Greg Casar; Sean Casten; Kathy Castor; Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick; Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr.; Jim Costa; Danny K. Davis; Debbie Dingell; Diana DeGette; Rosa L. DeLauro; Mark DeSaulnier; Nanette Diaz Barragán; Adriano Espaillat; Veronica Escobar; Dwight Evans; Sylvia R. Garcia; Al Green; Adelta S. Grijalva; Jimmy Gomez; Pablo José Hernández; Jahana Hayes; Chrissy Houlahan; Eleanor Holmes Norton; Robin L. Kelly; Jonathan L. Jackson; Raja Krishnamoorthy; Sydney Kamlager-Dove; Zoe Lofgren; George Latimer; LaMonica McIver; Sarah McBride; April McClain Delaney; Betty McCollum; Gregory W. Meeks; Kweisi Mfume; Gwen S. Moore; Kevin Mullin; Jerrold Nadler; Eleanor Holmes Norton; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Chellie Pingree; Brttany Pettersen; Mark Pocan; Ayanna Pressley; Jimmy Panetta; Mark Pocan; Seth Moulton; David Scott; Brad Sherman; Halley M. Stevens; Darren Soto; Suhas Subramanyam; Eric Swalwell; Rashida Tlaib; Shri Thanedar; Dina Ttus; Lori Trahan; Marc A. Veasey; Juan Vargas; Debbie Wasserman Schutlz; Nydia M. Velázquez; and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

Full text of the letter is below. A PDF copy of the letter is available here.

Dear Secretary Rubio and Secretary Noem:

We write to strongly condemn your unilateral move to pause issuing all immigrant visas for 75 coutnries. This is an oturageous, and discriminatory policy decision by your Administration impacting nearly 40% of all coutnries. It is also stunning that such a drastic policy change impacting hundreds of thousands of people a year would be announced not only by tweet, but also wthout offering any meaningful information about the 'pause.' As listed by the State Department, the countries impacted include:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Ertirea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Hati, 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, Saint Ktts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Because the policy applies to all immigrant visas, t affects immediate relatives of U.S ctizens as well as all family- sponsored visas, employer-sponsored, religious workers, diverstiy, and returning residents visas. According to the State Department, these 75 coutnries had accounted for approximately 243,671 immigrant visas in FY23, 280,015 in FY24, and 189,583 from October through May of FY25. Experts say the indefinte pause will turn away almost half of all legal immigrants over the next year. An analysis of visas issued over the last three years show people from the countries affected account for 40 to 45 percent of all immigrant visas.

Our Congressional Districts represent individuals from all the coutnries listed by the State Department's announcement. This discriminatory policy will have a devastating impact on our consttuents. It will separate families and prevent them from unting, block individuals from pursuing the American Dream, stifle small business growth, and undermine fath- based organizations' abiltiy to build and sustain their communties. In short, this policy is backwards, antiquated and does significantly more harm than good.

As such we request you provide the following information no later than February 20, 2026:

The State Department has claimed that 'The Trump Administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America's immigration system by those who would etxract wealth from the American people.' As such, does the Administration have the data to back up this claim to justify this policy?

What is the legal justification for the Department's action?

According to the Department of State, this pause is necessary to ensure that immigrants from these countries do not become a public charge. Public charge has long been an inadmissibility ground under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the agencies – Department of State and Department of Homeland Security – know how to conduct individualized assessments of applicants to determine whether they are likely to become a public charge. Why does the Administration now need a blanket pause on all applicants?

Considering you believe this policy will save Americans money, even though our coutnry benefts from net migration, have your Departments conducted a cost-beneft analysis of this policy? If so, we ask that you submt the analysis to Congress.

The State Department's announcement states that t 'is undergoing a full review of all policies, regulations, and guidance to ensure that immigrants from these high-risk coutnries do not utilize welfare in the Unted States or become a public charge.' When does the Department believe this 'review' will be completed, and if there will be addtional exemptions added to this policy.

We are all deeply disturbed by this policy decision, and strongly encourage you to reverse the policy

വാചകം ന്യൂസ് വാട്ട്സ് ആപ്പ് ഗ്രൂപ്പിൽ പങ്കാളിയാകുവാൻ ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക .

വാട്സ്ആപ്പ്:ചാനലിൽ അംഗമാകാൻ ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക .

ഫേസ്ബുക് പേജ് ലൈക്ക് ചെയ്യാൻ ഈ ലിങ്കിൽ (https://www.facebook.com/vachakam/) ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക.

യൂട്യൂബ് ചാനൽ:വാചകം ന്യൂസ്