Trump’s Suspension of Immigrant Visas for 75 Countries Excludes India

Earlier this month, the State Department announced a pause on immigrant visas for 75 countries that are considered “high-risk” in that their citizens are likely to get on welfare or become public charge upon moving to America. While many conservatives have been calling for a pause on all immigration till the country is cleared of the illegal aliens brought in by the open-border Democrats, this move by the Trump administration comes as a step in the right direction even if a little late.

The State Department announced on January 14 that it is suspending the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries listed on its website. The halt in visa issuance took effect on January 21. Most of the countries in the list included with the announcement are developing countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. Per the State Department’s update on visa processing to these countries:

Immigrant visa applicants who are nationals of affected countries may submit visa applications and attend interviews, and the Department will continue to schedule applicants for appointments, but no immigrant visas will be issued to these nationals during this pause.

Of the 75 countries, those from the South Asian region include Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. But India is excluded and interestingly so since Indian immigrants outnumber any of the other countries listed from that region. According to the Migration Policy Institute (November 2024), Indian immigrants lead in numbers of arrivals and residence globally with some 3 million Indian immigrants living in America. Nearly two-thirds of H1B work visas – that later offer a path to citizenship upon permanent employment – are issued to Indians, an issue that has raised concerns over replacement of American workers.

The State Department’s exclusion of India from the temporary ban on issuance of immigrant visas has some conservatives wondering about the reason. Given the number of illegal aliens arriving from India – nearly 97,000 in 2023 alone – one would question whether their presence is not a burden to the American taxpayer. Could it be that India has influence in the American policies including the immigration policy?

An America First conservative addressed this question on her X page. She suggested that it has to do with Vivek Ramaswamy, the rich Republican from an Indian immigrant family who rose to sudden fame over the past few years after he ran for presidency and later dropped out of the race to endorse Trump for 2024. The conservative X account wrote that Ramaswamy and India’s current Prime Minister Modi enjoy a professional relationship and Modi personally met with Ramaswamy and Ramaswamy’s father-in-law in D.C. last February.

Ramaswamy is currently running for the Governor of Ohio and has already been endorsed by Trump in this race. He was also part of Trump’s DOGE team at the start of Trump’s second term in early 2025. But after he made comments belittling native-born Americans while advocating for more immigrant workers from abroad, conservatives widely condemned him and he disappeared from the national limelight, going back to Ohio. Critics of Ramaswamy from both sides of the aisle have commented on his love for Hindu values.

PM Modi tweeted pictures of his meeting with Ramaswamy in February 2025.

President Trump also earned himself some criticism when Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham asked him a couple months ago about his policy of continuing to bring H1B workers into the country and the President insisted that America needs foreign talent because it doesn’t have sufficient talent of its own.

But the patriotic conservative base has made its demand clear – a total ban on all immigration, illegal as well as legal.