- Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions for obstruction in international parental child-abduction cases.
- The 2026 report named fourteen countries with patterns of noncompliance under the Hague Convention.
- The policy targets responsible individuals and may include their immediate family members; it does not automatically bar everyone from listed countries.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on September 28, 2026, a policy that can deny U.S. visas to foreign individuals who obstruct the resolution of international parental child-abduction cases. The measure can also cover their immediate family members.
It is aimed at conduct, not nationality alone. The State Department tied the policy to people responsible for, or complicit in, delaying cases.
Free toolCSPA Age-Out Calculator Online
“When foreign government officials, judges, judicial administrators, law enforcement officials, and others intentionally obstruct the prompt resolution of these cases, they prolong family separations and block the return of children to the United States,” Rubio said.
Rubio called the measure “another tool” to hold individuals accountable and press governments to meet their international obligations. The administration described protecting American children taken across borders and reuniting them with their parents as a priority.
The annual report named 14 countries, but the policy applies to individuals
The announcement followed the State Department’s 2026 Annual Report to Congress on International Child Abduction. It identified 14 countries as showing a pattern of noncompliance with the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
The countries are:
- Argentina
- The Bahamas
- Belize
- Brazil
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Honduras
- India
- Jordan
- Peru
- Poland
- Serbia
- South Korea
- United Arab Emirates
The convention generally seeks the prompt return of children wrongfully removed from, or kept outside, their country of habitual residence. Custody disputes can ordinarily be decided in that country.
Inclusion in the report does not automatically subject every official or resident of a listed country to a visa bar. The policy instead focuses on individuals whose actions meet the obstruction criteria.
The immigration law gives the secretary authority to bar admission
The State Department is invoking Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That provision allows the Secretary of State to deny admission when a foreign national’s entry could have potentially serious adverse consequences for U.S. foreign policy.
The measure adds an immigration tool to the government’s response. It does not replace the Goldman Act, which allows the United States to consider diplomatic steps and restrictions on certain foreign assistance in serious international child-abduction cases.
The law cited for the new policy concerns admission to the United States. Consular and Department of State determinations may prevent a person from receiving a U.S. visa or otherwise make that person ineligible for admission.
Officials can be targeted for defying laws, policies or court orders
The policy can reach foreign government officials, judges, judicial administrators and law-enforcement officials. It also covers other individuals who intentionally obstruct these cases, as well as immediate family members of people covered by the policy.
The department pointed to intentional failures to carry out or comply with laws, policies or court orders intended to resolve cases. Those measures may be designed to secure a child’s return to the country of habitual residence.
The stated focus is obstruction of the prompt resolution of international parental child-abduction cases. Rubio said such conduct can prolong separations and prevent children from returning to the United States.
Diplomacy continues alongside the new measure
The State Department said it would continue diplomatic engagement with countries identified in the annual report. It also said it could consider the “full range of tools” available under the Goldman Act.
Those tools sit alongside the new immigration measure. The department described the goal as protecting American children taken across international borders and reuniting them with their parents.
The announcement did not set out a public roster of people facing the measure. It also did not give a count of initial designations or specify a fixed expiration date.
Consular and department determinations will shape its application. The cited immigration authority provides the basis for denying admission when the statutory foreign-policy standard is met.
