USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees for Forms I-129 and I-140

The United States Department of State (“DOS”) has announced that it will freeze immigrant visa processing for seventy-five (75) countries citing concerns that citizens from those countries might become a public charge and require government financial assistance upon entering the United States. The directive instructs DOS consular officers to pause immigrant visa applications under existing laws. It does not affect nonimmigrant visa applications including B-1/B-2 Visitor Visas, L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visas, F and J Student Visas, and E-1/E-2 Treaty Trader and Investor Visas. The suspension is scheduled to start on January 21, 2026 and covers the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova,