US Secretary of State says visa system reflects country’s national interest

Jan 16, 2026 News

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…Suspension of immigrant visas processing for 75 countries

(Kaieteur News) – Weeks before 75 countries were placed on a suspension list by the United States Government for immigrant or permanent resident visas, US secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that America’s visa system is designed in keeping with its national interest.

Rubio told a news conference that the visa restriction should come as no surprise to the public. He noted “our visa system …who you allow to visit your country should reflect the national interest. We said that from the very beginning it was one of the directives that we got from the president. It is one of the things he ran on.”

Rubio explained the US can deny visas for a number of reasons.

He explained “We’ll deny people visa because of activities undertaken overseas other times, we’ll have people in the United States doing things that run counter to the United States laws. The law gives us the right. In fact, I would argue the obligation to remove people like that from our country and we going to continue to do it.”

“Sometimes someone comes in and says I want to be here as a student, they are here as a student and then once they are here, they become involved in nefarious activities, we going to remove them from the country.”

Rubio emphasised that a visa is not a right.

The US Secretary of State stressed “We deny visas every day. People will go to an embassy they will sit for interview and the consular officer will deny him a visa because of something that came up in the record; because of something that came up in the interview.”

“If you have power to deny someone a visa you also have the power to revoke. There is a variety of a reason why visas are denied but all of them are because it implicates or national interest or security.”

The US State Department on Tuesday announced the suspension of all immigrant visas processing for 75 countries including 11 CARICOM member states.  Among the Caribbean nations are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada Dominica, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname were not named among the countries now restricted from processing permanent resident visas. Other countries that face the visa restriction include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, and Yemen.

The department said in a statement, “The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people.” The pause will begin January 21 and will continue indefinitely until the department conducts a reassessment of immigrant visa processing.

A state department memo directs consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures.

In November, US President Donald Trump had vowed to “permanently pause” migration from all “third world countries” following a shooting near the White House by an Afghan national that killed a member of the National Guard.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement that “the state department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people.”

He noted that “immigration from these 75 countries will be paused while the state department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”

The state department has since revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump took office, it said on Monday. The administration has also adopted a stricter policy on granting visas, with tightened social media vetting and expanded screening.

Meanwhile, in his initial response to news of the new travel restriction, Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador to the US, Sir Ronald Sanders sought to clarify that the new measures do not apply to all visa categories.

“It relates only to applications for immigrant visas (commonly referred to as “green cards”), which are subject to a temporary pause of up to sixty (60) days while vetting and screening procedures are reviewed,” he explained.

Additionally, Sir Sanders noted that he was not officially notified of the new visa restrictions.

Upon becoming aware of these reports, I made immediate inquiries with the United States Department of State. As of this moment, no formal announcement has been made, and no official communication has been issued to the embassies of the countries reportedly affected.

Sir Sanders asserted, “I was advised by senior officials of the department of state that this matter arises from a new requirement under direction of the White House. However, contrary to some media reports, the measure under consideration does not apply to all visa categories.”

“I wish to emphasise that, at this stage, no written notification has been provided to embassies, and the information available to me is based on direct conversations with senior officials, rather than on any formal directive.”

He also clarified that applications for immigration to the United States are matters exclusively between the individual applicant and the Government of the United States. “The country of nationality or origin of an applicant has no legal or administrative role in decisions relating to the grant or refusal of immigrant status.”

In the meantime, Sir Sanders said the Government of Antigua and Barbuda continues its representations to the relevant United States authorities to secure the removal of Antigua and Barbuda from the list of countries subject to partial visa restrictions, including the requirement for certain visa applicants to post a bond.

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• immigrant visa, Marco Rubio, Visa suspension, visa system

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