US visa suspension: affected countries and family visas
What the suspension does
A presidential proclamation restricting entry to the United States took effect on 1 January 2026. It builds on an earlier proclamation from June 2025 and widens it considerably.
For some countries the suspension covers every visa category. For others it covers immigrant visas together with visitor and student categories. Either way, the practical result for families is the same: nationals of the listed countries cannot currently be issued an immigrant visa, and that includes the CR-1 and IR-1 spouse visas.
This page explains who is affected, who is not, and what to do if you are part way through an application.
Countries under full suspension
Nationals of these countries are suspended from entering the United States as both immigrants and nonimmigrants:
Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The suspension also applies to people travelling on Palestinian Authority issued travel documents.
Countries where immigrant visas are suspended
Nationals of these countries face a narrower suspension that nonetheless covers all immigrant visas, along with B-1 and B-2 visitor visas and F, M and J student and exchange categories:
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Turkmenistan is a separate case. The newer proclamation lifted the restriction on its nationals for visitor, student and exchange visas, but the bar on entering as an immigrant remains in place.
Does this stop a spouse visa
Yes, for nationals of any country on either list.
Until the end of 2025 there was a categorical exception that protected immediate family immigrant visas, the IR-1 and CR-1 for spouses, the IR-2 and CR-2 for children, and the IR-5 for parents. The State Department has confirmed that this exception is no longer available as of the effective date of the new proclamation.
That is the single most important change for couples, because it removed the one protection that had previously kept spouse cases moving while other categories were suspended.
Who is not affected
The suspension applies to people who were outside the United States and did not hold a valid visa on the effective date. Several groups fall outside it:
Anyone already holding a valid US visa issued before the effective date. Those visas were not revoked and remain valid.
Lawful permanent residents of the United States.
Dual nationals travelling on a passport from a country that is not on either list.
Diplomats and staff of international organisations, and certain athletes travelling for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
People already admitted to the United States as refugees or granted asylum.
Anyone granted a case by case exception on national interest grounds.
What happens to a petition you have already filed
The proclamation restricts the issuing of visas and entry to the United States. It does not, by itself, cancel a family relationship or invalidate a petition that has already been approved.
In practice, though, cases involving nationals of the listed countries have been slowed at every stage. Pending applications at USCIS have been placed on hold, and applicants should expect delays and a higher chance of requests for evidence.
At the immigrant visa stage, applicants can still file the DS-260 and can still attend an interview where one is scheduled, but the application is then paused rather than approved, and it stays paused until the suspension is lifted or an exception is granted.
Should you still file
For most couples the answer is yes, with clear expectations.
Filing now preserves your place in the queue and starts the clock on the petition stage, which takes many months regardless. Proclamations of this kind have been amended, narrowed and litigated in the past, and a case that is already approved and documentarily qualified is in a far better position on the day a suspension lifts than one that has not been started.
What filing will not do is produce a visa while the suspension is in force. Anyone who needs to plan around a definite date, a job offer, a tenancy or a school year, should not assume one.
The national interest exception
The proclamation allows a case by case exception where entry is judged to serve the national interest of the United States. The decision rests with the Attorney General, the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security depending on the category.
There is no simple application form for this, no published checklist, and no guarantee. Requests are made through the consular post handling the case and are strongest where there are compelling and well evidenced circumstances, such as serious medical need or the separation of a family with US citizen children.
This is the point at which most families should take advice from an immigration lawyer rather than proceeding alone.
What to do now
Gather and keep your civil documents current, because a case that is ready to move is worth far more than one that is not when circumstances change.
Keep building relationship evidence. The suspension does not change what a consular officer will look for when the case is eventually decided, and evidence created as the relationship goes along is always stronger than evidence assembled afterwards.
Check your own status carefully. Dual nationality, an existing valid visa, or permanent residence can take you outside the suspension entirely.
Watch for changes. Lists of this kind have been revised several times, and countries have been added and removed.
FAQs
My spouse already has a valid immigrant visa. Is it cancelled?
No. Visas issued before the effective date were not revoked. Travel before the visa expires.
I hold two passports. Does the suspension apply to me?
If you travel on a passport from a country that is not on either list, you are outside the suspension. This is one of the most useful exceptions and it is frequently overlooked.
Can I still marry and file the petition?
Yes. The proclamation restricts the issuing of visas, not marriage and not the filing of a family petition.
Will the interview still go ahead?
An interview may still be scheduled and held, but the application is paused afterwards rather than approved.
How long will the suspension last?
There is no fixed end date. Restrictions of this kind are reviewed periodically and have previously been amended, narrowed or replaced.
Is there any way around it?
The only route is a case by case national interest exception, which is discretionary and not straightforward. Take legal advice rather than relying on informal accounts of what worked for someone else.