The South Asian American Justice Collaborative (SAAJCO) strongly condemns the State Department’s announcement suspending immigrant visa processing for nationals of approximately 75 countries. The affected countries include several with large South Asian diaspora communities including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan. 

This action could unlawfully block family reunification, prolong separation for thousands of loved ones, and leave workers and students in extended legal uncertainty. It also revives a long-discredited narrative that immigrants from certain countries are presumptively dependent on public benefits, despite overwhelming evidence and longstanding immigration law to the contrary. 

 “Labeling people as likely ‘public charges’ based on nationality is not only factually wrong, but also a dangerous distortion of immigration law,” said Kalpana Peddibhotla, Executive Director of the South Asian American Justice Collaborative. “Immigrants admitted through family-based and employment-based pathways are already required to demonstrate financial sponsorship and self-sufficiency. They contribute as workers, caregivers, taxpayers, and entrepreneurs, often paying into public systems they are barred from accessing for years.” 

Beyond its legal defects, this policy represents a profound moral failure. It treats human lives as administrative risk factors rather than families, workers, students, and refugees seeking stability and dignity. Policies that knowingly prolong family separation and impose blanket harm based on nationality cannot be justified by claims of fairness or security. SAAJCO expresses solidarity with immigrant families, advocates, and communities affected by this action and will continue to monitor the implementation closely and challenge its discriminatory impact.