America’s Visa Pause and the Cost of Shutting the Door

The decision by the United States to suspend immigrant visa applications for citizens of 75 countries, including The Gambia and Senegal, from January 21 raises serious questions about fairness, global responsibility and the human cost of migration policies. Immigrant visas are not tourist documents; they are lifelines for families, professionals and individuals who have followed the rules and waited patiently for a chance to build permanent lives in America. Freezing this process, even temporarily, sends a troubling signal to the rest of the world.

While US officials justify the move by pointing to stricter enforcement of the so-called “public charge” rule, the policy itself is deeply problematic. It assumes, often without sufficient evidence, that immigrants from certain countries are more likely to become burdens on public resources. This approach ignores the long history of immigrants contributing far more to the American economy than they take out, especially through labour, taxes and innovation.

For African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone, the impact will be particularly painful. Many families have spent years navigating complex immigration processes, paying hefty fees and meeting every requirement laid down by US authorities. To suddenly pause their applications, without a clear timeline, feels less like administrative caution and more like collective punishment.

There is also a moral dimension that the United States cannot wish away. America has long projected itself as a land of opportunity, built by immigrants from every corner of the world. Policies that selectively shut the door on developing nations undermine this image and reinforce perceptions of double standards in global mobility, where wealth and nationality increasingly determine who is welcome and who is not.

Beyond governments and statistics, real people will bear the brunt of this decision. Families will remain separated, job offers will expire, and dreams carefully planned over decades may collapse overnight. Calling the suspension “temporary but indefinite” offers little comfort to those caught in the middle, suspended between hope and despair.
Ultimately, immigration policy should balance national interests with humanity and justice.

The US has every right to protect its systems, but it also has a responsibility to ensure that such protections do not become instruments of exclusion and prejudice. If America truly values the contributions of immigrants, it must rethink policies that close doors instead of building fair, transparent pathways for those willing to contribute to its future.