The policies made it all but impossible to immigrate from 91 countries and reduced the number of immigrant visas available from another 61. Immigration from Muslim-majority countries plunged by more than 90 percent, while Africa and the Middle East were among the regions hit hardest.
New restrictions cut legal immigration
In Trump's first year back in office, immigrant visas had fallen by about 10 percent. The decline accelerated after an expanded travel ban in January blocked people from 39 countries from receiving visas or entering the US.
A separate pause on visa issuance barred immigrants from another 52 countries. The administration had also suspended the diversity visa programme, which is meant for people from countries with low levels of immigration.
The administration said the measures were intended to improve screening for security risks and potential future use of public benefits.
David Bier, an immigration expert at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the cuts were the largest since the Hoover administration unilaterally denied visas to otherwise qualified legal immigrants during the Great Depression, excluding the coronavirus pandemic.
Families stuck after years-long process
The restrictions have left thousands waiting after years of following the legal immigration process.
Daniel Brackins, a US citizen living in Los Angeles, said his wife, Zhanna, was blocked from receiving a visa. Their son was born in Kazakhstan as a result.
“My wife and I have broken down many times, and it puts a lot of stress on the relationship,” he said, “especially watching my son grow up on video chat.”
Wilian Nelson Hernandez Morales has been stranded in Guatemala since January and is still waiting for a visa to return to Middlesex, New Jersey, where he had been raising four children with his wife, Angela Duro.
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Student and worker visas also decline
The impact has extended beyond immigrant visas. Student and worker visas fell 30 percent from a year earlier, while tourist and business visitor visas declined about 25 percent in February.
India and China were not covered by the travel bans but still saw sharp declines in student and work visas.
The policies were later blocked in federal court. At the end of August, two federal courts ordered the government to resume issuing visas, but a vast majority of affected applicants are still waiting.