Brazilian experts have shared insight into the implications and potential motivations behind a U.S. decision to pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries.
The United States announced on Wednesday suspension of visa processing for the 75 countries, including South American countries of Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay, effective Jan 21, according to a U.S. State Department memo.
According to the U.S. State Department statement, all applicants will still be interviewed, but requests from these nation's applicants will be paused.
Glaydson Cabral, an immigration lawyer from a visa consultancy firm in Brazil, said he doesn't understand why Brazil is on the list.
"The visa most sought by Brazilian applicants is precisely that of professionals who can demonstrate relevant activity in the United States -- with a business plan or career plan linked to areas of U.S. national interest, like engineers, software engineers, computer scientists and health professionals," he said.
Vinicius Vieira, an international relations professor said politics is the motivation behind the decision, not immigration.
"I think there are too many reasons. If you look at Latin America, for instance, Uruguay, which is the richest country of the region, alongside Chile, for instance, was included in the list, and there has never been such a heavy wave of migration from Uruguay to the United States. However, Uruguay is governed by the left, so it means that a potential reason for including countries is the fact that they are governed by a center of left or left-wing politicians like Lula [Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva] and the current government of Uruguay," he said.
The new U.S. suspension applies only to immigrant visas. But since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, the issuance of other visas, including tourist and student visas, has also become more restrictive.
U.S. consular officials have also been instructed to tighten social media screening to identify visa applicants considered hostile to the United States. And a new visa integrity fee of at least 250 U.S. dollars has been implemented.
"There is, in fact, increased scrutiny by [U.S.] consular officers when granting these visas. Even without a formal memorandum, the current administration's immigration policy has been operating in that direction," said Cabral.
Brazilian experts share insight into implications, potential motivations behind U.S. visa suspension
