The State Department issued 26,000 immigrant visas in February 2026, half the monthly average of 52,000 before President Donald Trump took office. The January expansion of travel restrictions and a separate pause on visa issuance sharply curtailed processing across 91 countries.
The count covers visas issued at U.S. consulates abroad. It does not include all green cards, including those granted to people who adjust status inside the United States.
A New York Times analysis of the latest available government figures found the decline. The administration’s restrictions began taking effect in late 2025 and early 2026, with the steepest contraction following January’s actions.
Separate restrictions swept across several visa groups
The measures did not operate as one single ban. In December 2025, the administration suspended the diversity immigrant visa program. The following month, an expanded travel ban barred people from 39 countries from receiving visas or entering the United States.
A separate visa-issuance pause covered immigrants from 52 more countries. The administration’s broader count also included Palestinian nationals and restrictions affecting 75 countries. Separately, visa allotments fell for 61 other countries.
The travel-ban list expanded from 12 countries designated late in 2025: Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. These categories describe separate policy actions; the figures do not make every affected person subject to the same restriction.
Declines ranged from 16% in Western Europe to 99% in Central Asia
Compared with monthly averages in 2023 and 2024, consular issuances declined across every listed region. Central Asia recorded the sharpest fall.
| Region | Change in monthly issuances |
|---|---|
| Central Asia | −99% |
| Africa | −89% |
| Eastern Europe | −84% |
| Middle East | −81% |
| Australia and Oceania | −73% |
| South Asia | −63% |
| South America | −60% |
| Caribbean | −53% |
| East Asia | −33% |
| Central America | −30% |
| Western Europe | −16% |
A separate graphic shared by the Rapid Response 47 account showed a 17% decline for Southeast Asia. Issuances from Muslim-majority countries fell by more than 90%, with Africa and the Middle East among the hardest-hit regions.
Country-level figures show sharp drops and a few gains
South Korea’s monthly total dropped from an average of 420 in 2023–2024 to 340 in February, a 19% decline. The analysis counted 25 countries with decreases greater than 20%. China fell 31%, Japan 25% and India 16%.
Canada moved in the opposite direction, rising 142%, while Mexico increased 17%. Together, they accounted for about 30 percent of all visas issued that month. The Philippines, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Spain also recorded increases.
Other entry routes also contracted
Student and worker visa issuances fell 30% from a year earlier. Tourist and business visitor visas, known as B1/B2, dropped about 25% in February.
The travel ban fully blocked people from the 39 covered countries from obtaining student or work visas. Applicants from other countries also faced new rules and fees. India and China were not covered by the bans, but their student and work visa issuances still declined.
The H-1B professional work visa program scrapped its previous random lottery and added tougher rules and fees. Seasonal agricultural and exchange-worker issuances stayed broadly stable, while other seasonal workers, including those in hospitality and tourism, saw declines.
Legal asylum applications at southern ports of entry dropped 99.9%, while refugee admissions fell by around 90%. Those figures add to the contraction beyond consular green-card processing.
Muslim-majority admissions fell steeply as the government cited screening
The Cato Institute counted immigrant visa issuances and permanent lawful refugee admissions together, finding a drop from 21,096 in December 2024 to 808 in February 2026. Its figures showed Afghan admissions falling from 5,563 to 9, a 99.8 percent decline. Afghans accounted for 27 percent of the overall decrease among majority-Muslim countries.
Pakistanis recorded a decline of 2,963, or 97.9 percent. Qatar, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates were the only countries in that group with increases; Turkey had the smallest decrease, at 8 percent. A graphic shared by Rapid Response 47 had put the drop from Muslim-majority nations at 96% since former President Joe Biden left office.
The administration said the restrictions were intended to “improve the screening of visa applicants for security risks and for potential future use of public benefits.”
The contraction followed a smaller first-year decline
Visa numbers fell only about 10 percent in Trump’s first year back in office, before the January 2026 travel-ban expansion and issuance pause brought the sharper drop.
David Bier, an immigration expert at the Cato Institute, said the cuts, excepting the coronavirus pandemic, were the largest since the Hoover administration denied visas to otherwise qualified immigrants during the Great Depression. Cato favors increased immigration.
Families faced delays after years in the legal process
Daniel Brackins, a U.S. citizen living in Los Angeles, said his wife, Zhanna, could not obtain a visa to enter the United States. Their son was born in Kazakhstan as a result, he said.
“My wife and I have broken down many times, and it puts a lot of stress on the relationship,” Brackins said, “especially watching my son grow up on video chat.”
Willian Nelson Hernandez Morales had lived in New Jersey with his wife and four children before traveling to Guatemala and becoming stranded. He entered the United States illegally as a minor 26 years ago and married a U.S. citizen in 2021. He sought permanent residency through the marriage, but the process stalled, leaving him unable to return since January.
Courts ordered visa issuance to resume, but applicants remain in limbo
The administration imposed the restrictions without congressional approval. At the end of August 2026, federal courts in two separate lawsuits ordered the government to begin issuing visas again.
Most people whose cases were blocked were still waiting after those orders. For more than eight months, the State Department had issued almost no visas to people from the affected countries.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
