Leverkusen's hopes of a 2nd consecutive Bundesliga title fade with draw at St. Pauli

AUGSBURG, Germany (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen's hopes of a second consecutive Bundesliga title faded with a 1-1 draw at St. Pauli on Sunday.

Patrik Schick put Leverkusen ahead in the first half but Carlo Boukhalfa equalized in the 78th to leave the defending champion eight points behind Bayern Munich with four rounds remaining.

Bayern, which beat Heidenheim 4-0 on Saturday, could clinch the title on Saturday if it beats Mainz and Leverkusen loses to Augsberg.

Last season, Leverkusen completed an unprecedented unbeaten Bundesliga season for its first Germany league title — and also went unbeaten to lift the German Cup.

Borussia Dortmund beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-2 in Dortmund’s first game since its Champions League elimination.

Dortmund scored three goals in the space of nine minutes to turn the game around just before halftime.

Fresh off scoring a hat trick against Barcelona on Tuesday, Serhou Guirassy leveled the score in the 41st off Pascal Gross’ cross following Ko Itakura's opener for Moenchengladbach.

Felix Nmecha made it 2-1 off a cross from Yan Couto soon after. Daniel Svensson added a third in the fifth minute of first-half added time with a looping header on the rebound when a Guirassy shot was saved.

Kevin Stoger pulled one back for Moenchengladbach with a second-half penalty.

On-loan Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka played a prominent role in the buildup to all three of Dortmund's goals after missing the Barcelona loss with injury.

A last-second clearance from Cédric Zesiger rescued a point for Augsburg in a 0-0 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt that set back both teams' efforts to qualify for European competition next season.

Frankfurt's Ansgar Knauff seemed certain to score after dribbling past defender Zesiger and goalkeeper Finn Dahmen but Zesiger sprinted back and slid to block Knauff's shot in front of an unguarded net.

Augsburg nearly took the win in the final minutes but Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp reacted quickly to push Phillip Tietz's shot around the post.

Frankfurt stays third but has won just four of 12 Bundesliga games since forward Omar Marmoush left for Manchester City in January as teams behind have gained ground. Augsburg is 10th and in a midtable battle for the lower European places.

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Dortmund's Daniel Svensson celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday April 20, 2025. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)

Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy, right, Pascal Gross, left, and Ramy Bensebaini after the Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach in Dortmund, Germany, Sunday April 20, 2025. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)

St. Pauli's Eric Smith challenged by Leverkusen's Exequiel Palacios, left, and Patrik Schick during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC St. Pauli and Bayer Leverkusen at Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg, Germany, Sunday April 20, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

Leverkusen's Patrik Schick, center, celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC St. Pauli and Bayer Leverkusen at Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg, Germany, Sunday April 20, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

St. Pauli's Carlo Boukhalfa, center, celebrates scoring with teammates during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC St. Pauli and Bayer Leverkusen at Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg, Germany, Sunday April 20, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

St. Pauli's Connor Metcalfe, right, and Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC St. Pauli and Bayer Leverkusen at Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg, Germany, Sunday April 20, 2025. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike, left, and Augsburg's Chrislain Matsima challenge for the ball during the between FC Augsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt at the WWK Arena in Augsburg, Germany, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Jan-Philipp Strobel/dpa via AP)

Augsburg's Cedric Zesiger, left, and Frankfurt's Michy Batshuayi challenge for the ball during the between FC Augsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt at the WWK Arena in Augsburg, Germany, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Jan-Philipp Strobel/dpa via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department said Wednesday it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and Somalia, whose nationals the Trump administration has deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States.

The State Department, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said it had instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the countries affected in accordance with a broader order issued in November that tightened rules around potential immigrants who might become “public charges” in the U.S.

The step builds on earlier immigration and travel bans by the administration on nearly 40 countries and is part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for foreigners.

“The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” the department said in a statement. “Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”

The suspension, which will begin Jan. 21, will not apply to applicants seeking non-immigrant visas, or temporary tourist or business visas, who make up the vast majority of visa seekers. Demand for non-immigrant visas is expected to rise dramatically in the coming months and years due to the upcoming 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics both of which the U.S. will host or co-host.

A separate notice sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates said that non-immigrant visa applicants should be screened for the possibility that they might seek public benefits in the United States.

“With the uncovering of massive public benefits fraud across the United States, the Trump administration is laser-focused on eliminating and preventing fraud in public benefits programs,” said the cable that referred specifically to most non-immigrant visa applications and was sent on Monday.

The cable, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, urged consular officers to ensure that foreigners wanting to travel to the U.S. “have been fully vetted and screened” for whether they may rely on public services before they are issued a visa.

The cable noted several times that it is up to the applicant to prove that they would not apply for public benefits while in the U.S. and said consular officers who suspect the applicant might apply should require them to fill out a form proving their financial bona fides.

President Donald Trump's administration has already severely restricted immigrant and non-immigrant visa processing for citizens of dozens of countries, many of them in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The November guidance on which Wednesday's decision is based directed U.S. Embassy and consulate officials to comprehensively and thoroughly vet visa applicants to demonstrate that they will not need to rely on public benefits from the government any time after their admission in the U.S.

While federal law already required those seeking permanent residency or legal status to prove they wouldn’t be a public charge, Trump in his first term widened the range of benefit programs that could disqualify applicants, and the guidelines in the cable appear to go further in scope.

Immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. already undergo a medical exam by a physician who’s been approved by a U.S. Embassy. They are screened for communicable diseases, like tuberculosis, and asked to disclose any history of drug or alcohol use, mental health conditions or violence. They’re also required to have a number of vaccinations.

The new directive expanded those with more specific requirements. It said consular officials must consider a range of specific details about people seeking visas, including their age, health, family status, finances, education, skills and any past use of public assistance regardless of the country. It also said they should assess applicants’ English proficiency and can do so by conducting interviews in English.

Experts said at the time it could further limit who gets to enter the country at a time when the Republican administration is already tightening those rules.

The countries affected by the suspension announced on Wednesday are:

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, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-mast at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Cubans line up for appointments at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio makes a statement to reporters while meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)