The U.S. State Department has announced an immediate pause on immigrant visa processing for citizens of 75 countries, saying the move is aimed at stopping newcomers who it claims are likely to rely on public assistance and “extract wealth from the American people.”

The announcement was made in a series of posts on X from the official State Department account on Wednesday. In the thread, the department said it would “pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates,” adding that the freeze would stay in place “until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.”

Most immigrants use less in means‑tested benefits per person than U.S.‑born residents, and over time their children become some of the strongest net contributors to public finances.

For most non‑citizens, access to federal safety‑net programs is highly restricted:

• Undocumented immigrants are generally barred from SNAP, regular Medicaid, SSI, and TANF.​
• Most lawful permanent residents (green card holders) are locked out of federal means‑tested programs for their first five years in that status (the “five‑year bar”).​
• Even when eligible, a sponsor’s income is often “deemed” to the immigrant, making it harder to qualify.

Refugees and a few humanitarian categories (e.g., asylees, certain Afghans and Iraqis) are exceptions; they can access some benefits sooner, because the U.S. decided to bring them here for protection.

A follow‑up post said the pause hits “dozens of countries – including Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and Eritrea – whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival,” and concluded with a statement that “The Trump Administration will always put America First.”

This possibly means immigrants like Elon Musk will come first. Musk, an immigrant from South Africa, has benefited from tens of billions of dollars in government subsidies, tax breaks, and public contracts.

Several independent analyses have tallied government support to Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity, and related Musk entities:

• A Los Angeles Times investigation estimated around 4.9 billion USD in government support to Tesla, SolarCity, and SpaceX by the mid‑2010s, including grants, tax breaks, subsidized loans, factory construction, and consumer tax credits.​
• A Washington Post analysis, summarized by Good Jobs First, found that Musk and his businesses have received at least 38 billion USD in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits over about two decades.​
• ABC News and others note that over the last decade alone, SpaceX and Tesla have been awarded at least 18 billion USD in federal contracts, with SpaceX’s annual defense and NASA contracts reaching several billion dollars per year.​

These figures mix direct subsidies (tax abatements, grants, discounted loans) with lucrative public contracts (NASA and Defense Department launch deals) and consumer tax credits that boost sales of Musk’s products.

Musk is on his way to becoming the world’s first trillionaire.

The administration has not yet released a full list of affected nations, but media reports and officials’ statements indicate that they include Somalia, Haiti, Iran, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Egypt, Thailand, Russia and Yemen, among others. A separate advisory to corporate immigration clients noted that applicants and employers in the affected countries should prepare for disruptions once the pause begins.

The move builds on a broader directive issued in November 2025 that toughened how consular officers apply the “public charge” provision of U.S. immigration law, which allows denial of visas to people deemed likely to depend on government cash assistance or long‑term institutional care.

Reporting from multiple outlets indicates that consular officers have been told to scrutinize applicants’ age, health, finances, prior use of public benefits, education and English‑language skills when assessing the likelihood they will rely on U.S. welfare programs. Older applicants, people with chronic medical needs, or those with a history of using government assistance in their home countries may be at heightened risk of denial under the new standard.

The Trump administration has touted it revoked 100,000 visas and deported hundreds of thousands of people, as well as pressured federal agencies to speed up removals and increase arrests of non‑citizens with outstanding orders. Earlier this winter, the Department of Homeland Security also halted the processing of certain immigration requests from Afghan nationals while it reviews cases approved under the prior administration.