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Statement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell

    Good evening. On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. That testimony concerned in part a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings. I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure. This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress's oversight role; the Fed through testimony and other public disclosures made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve se...
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U.S. freezes new immigrant visas for 75 countries: See the full list

US Visa Paused For Citizens Of These 75 Countries Starting January 21, 2026 - DAAD Fully Funded Scholarships 2026 

  • The Trump Administration said immigrants from the list of countries rely on public assistance “at unacceptable rates.”
  • The countries include U.S. allies and adversaries, as well as several top destinations for American travelers.

The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday it will pause issuing immigrant visas to citizens of 75 countries over concerns that they may rely on public assistance in the future.

In a post on X, the U.S. government said immigrants from the list of countries “take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.”

The list, which includes U.S. allies and adversaries, alongside several top destinations for American travelers, was later posted on U.S. State Department’s website. 

The countries, divided by region, include:

The Americas
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Nicaragua
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Uruguay

Europe
- Albania
- Belarus
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Kosovo
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia

Asia-Pacific
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Cambodia
- Fiji
- Georgia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Pakistan
- Russia
- Syria
- Thailand
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen

Africa
- Algeria
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Liberia
- Libya
- Morocco
- Nigeria
- Republic of the Congo
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- The Gambia
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda

The freeze, which is set to begin Jan. 21, does not affect tourist visas.

It will remain in effect “until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” according to the U.S. State Department’s website.

This latest announcement follows a string of immigration and travel visa restrictions from the Trump Administration, including the pausing of diversity visas in late December. Diversity visas allowed a maximum of 55,000 immigrants from countries with low U.S. immigration rates to enter the United States each year.

Current immigration visas

The policy does not affect current immigration visas. However, the U.S. government has previously signaled it’s reviewing immigration visas granted under the Biden Administration.

Joseph Edlow, director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in a post on X in November, said he’s “directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” at the direction of President Donald Trump.

He added that “the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies.”

 

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