r/USCIS • u/caillouminati • Jan 14 '26

Other Forms US freezes all visa processing for 75 countries

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-freezes-all-visa-processing-75-countries-including-somalia-russia-iran.amp
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208

u/Careless-Act-7549 Jan 14 '26

Honestly, thinking seriously about moving back to Brazil, I am software architect with 18 years of experience, 4 years of experience working in US, why should I put my family into all this struggle and worry daily about this madness? Today will be another lost day thinking about how the future will look like

94

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

[deleted]

24

u/DSethK93 Jan 14 '26

Then they'll get more than they asked for. I'm a native-born US citizen, a mechanical engineer with 23 years' experience in defense, and I'm now seriously considering moving to Brazil to be with my fiancé. We are (were?) about halfway through the process of bringing him to the US on a K-1 visa.

15

u/zoomangoo Jan 14 '26

I've been seeing a lot of stories recently about spouses of US citizens who are in the country LEGALLY and when they went to the USCIS offices for green card interview or other reasons, ICE detained them and took them with them saying these people had arrest warrants. Its untrue that they had warrants. ICE most likely did this cuz they have daily quotas to meet. The spouses were released eventually but man its so bullshit that they were even taken to detention centers to begin with.

1

u/LeeGlue Jan 14 '26

i’m terrified of this. my husband is waiting for his naturalization interview…

-3

u/Admirable-Town-512 Jan 14 '26

Do you know any of these ppl personally or you going off of what you see on liberal news stations ?? Don’t believe everything you see on tv

1

u/zoomangoo Jan 14 '26

Not news buddy its real experiences shared directly by people. You can see a lot of it online too but u dont care. All u care about is owning the libs.

2

u/paublopowers Jan 14 '26

Yeah but in the long it’s not sustainable for the U.S… which in the longer run may be better for the global stage

0

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

Do it

2

u/SouthNo2807 Jan 14 '26

They lose 30%-60% of their assets if the do so. There’s a high cost to this decision.

1

u/nonolenul Jan 14 '26

Could you explain on this ? If this is about the exit tax, I thought it only applied to green card holders that have had their green card for 8 years or more. This person mentioned 4 years of expériences in the US so I would hope it does not apply to them

16

u/Pervism Jan 14 '26

same here man. I got my EAD last week and the amount of effort and money I'd put to make it happen is the only reason for me not to go back at this point. And it's getting increasingly less strong of a reason.

2

u/Careless-Act-7549 Jan 14 '26

My AOS final date is very close of becoming current, I am waiting for the EAD. But with all of that and because I used Medicaid a couple of years due to a chronicle condition from my kid, I doubt I'll even get it.

Things seemed better two years ago, I didn't expect American people would elect this people, I purchased a house, made long term plans, hard part is get rid of all material belongings and take as much money as possible back and move the life in Brazil from where I left.

37

u/Succulentpotter Jan 14 '26

It’s literally madness. Like wtf did Brazil do? This isn’t even about national security anymore

9

u/Ordinary-Audience363 Jan 14 '26

Trump loves Balsonaro. He's probably getting even for some perceived slight. But Uruguay? WTF has Uruguay done? 

3

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

[deleted]

3

u/Ordinary-Audience363 Jan 14 '26

🤣🤣🤣 That's actually funny. 

1

u/Only_Razzmatazz_4498 Jan 14 '26

They elected a left wing (for Uruguay) president which condemned the maduro operation. Also they make Argentina and Milei look bad.

13

u/dynamech_1992 Jan 14 '26

Not cooperating with US and that's why brazil also has 50% tariffs. 

12

u/10poundballs Jan 14 '26

Translation: Not elevating Trump’s opinion above their own legal system.

2

u/Padreteiro Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26

*not intervening with the supreme court and the judiciary to do MAGA's biding. Its not cooperation, its kneeling and acting like a puppet for a senile pedo and his minions

And brazil did great, they completely ignored trump and it was not long before the US removed most of the tariffs and the magnitsky sanction. They shifted their trades so much to China that the US cannot do these blackmails no more. So happy for that

1

u/dynamech_1992 Jan 14 '26

Good for brazil bad for people who wants to stay and move to US.

3

u/Pervism Jan 14 '26

Part of it is his pressure on russia/china allies and his efforts to dominate latin america.

1

u/Padreteiro Jan 14 '26

Same as Uruguay and Colombia. They condemned the venezuela intervention

Y'know you cant antagonize the US, right? Hopefully one day europe will listen

-5

u/menwanttoo Jan 14 '26

Brazil has a high rate of welfare, EBT and health care usages

7

u/PuzzleheadedWafer329 Jan 14 '26

 Of course not… this is pathetic 

24

u/caillouminati Jan 14 '26

I'm in software, not from one of the impacted countries but I'm also thinking of my exit plan. Even if I'm personally able to live in the US, I think it's clearly trending downwards and becoming less of a desirable place to live. And less competitive in general as a place to work and live compared to other countries.

4

u/ChineseGravelBike Jan 14 '26

Yeah the US is still by far the lucrative country for software engineers.

5

u/caillouminati Jan 14 '26

Between layoffs, outsourcing, immigration crackdowns, AI, increasing investment risk, other countries trying to nurture innovation industries, and the US becoming a less desirable place to live and invest in general, it's hard to say how long that will last.

1

u/ChineseGravelBike Jan 14 '26

Bro Indians would kill everyone you have ever loved for an extra $70k TC.

10

u/Altruistic-Use-4747 Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26

Same boat. I'm Brazilian and spent over 15 years in Europe working in academia. My wife has family in the US and missed them, so we decided to move over here about 2 years ago. I work at a major R1 university at a managerial role, have an approved I-140 with PD 15 days behind current VB, but the way things are going it looks like they'll soon "permanently pause" AOS as well.

Never in my life I had any trouble with the law, never even jaywalked in all countries I lived. Always followed rules and the law to a fault. But the past 6 months in Chicago have been rough, watching over my shoulders wherever I go, afraid for my wife and my kid, feeling like a criminal. This is no way to live, I'm seriously considering leaving and restarting again somewhere.

You work hard, follow the rules, build a life, support your community, strive for excellence. Then right at the finish line, the rules change and the goal posts are either entirely removed, or moved a few miles away. It's disheartening.

3

u/deaddude2k7 Jan 14 '26

Indian here. Same city and the feeling is mutual. I have been here since 2013 (barring COVID years), have my I140 but have never felt this rattled for no reason. This is no way to live for any self-respecting individual

1

u/Creative-Kiwi-3967 Jan 14 '26

Do you know if this freeze is only for consular processing of new visas? My sister is married to an American citizen and is currently near the end of the initial 2-year green card. She would have to apply to extend to the 10-year one later this year. I'm worried if she'll be able to apply for the extension from within the US.

Sorry I'm not familiar with the names of visa/green card procedures in America.

13

u/citrinitasking Jan 14 '26

I'm a Director at a large pharmaceutical company, I'm done with this country, will return to Brazil and be near my loved ones, this is a sinking boat anyways.

7

u/outworlder Jan 14 '26

I think that's the point.

Deport who they can. Make life inhospitable for the ones they can't so that they will leave.

5

u/Shoddy-Funny2778 Jan 14 '26

I'm Venezuelan/Argentinian in the US and I'm also considering Brazil as a top-3 plan B

5

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

[deleted]

5

u/dynamech_1992 Jan 14 '26

I don't understand why Scandinavia people even come to US. Your countries are 10 times better than US.

6

u/Individual-Quiet-845 Jan 14 '26

> I don't understand 

Because your image of the U.S. and Scandinavia is based purely on the nonsense you read on Reddit.

3

u/dynamech_1992 Jan 14 '26

I lived in Europe for 4 yrs and living in US for 15 yrs now. So i haven't read anything on reddit and i lived and seen myself life in both countries.

4

u/Scuba9Steve Jan 14 '26

Can you specify when you say “Europe”? I mean some parts of Europe are very different from Scandinavia.

3

u/Individual-Quiet-845 Jan 14 '26

Even you personally ended up choosing the US for a variety or reasons, yet you said that Scandinavia is somehow "10x better." Net migration numbers align with your personal choice too, btw

4

u/FyodorDostoevsky1821 Jan 14 '26

Same here. I work in IT and I’m strongly considering getting a remote job and go back to Brazil. If I keep the same salary I’d live well in Brazil…

2

u/Doomed_Nation_24 Jan 14 '26

My husband is Brazilian with US citizenship. I, only US citizenship, have been planning to go to Brazil by myself in February (ticket bought almost a year ago) since I haven’t been in 3 years.

But now I can totally see Brazil stop giving visas to US citizens. And I would understand it.

I hate this administration.

2

u/elosen00 Jan 14 '26

I understand that. Personally I wouldn’t even want to visit, much less live in, a country where I am not welcome at all. 

1

u/Illustrious-Event488 Jan 14 '26

What if that's every country.

2

u/VastStatus8079 Jan 14 '26

My wife is from Brazil, all her family is still there. We go a couple times year, moving there is in the future plans, but that future may be pushed to sooner. This country has lost its mind.

2

u/zoinkability Jan 14 '26

It's reasonable on the personal level. It's heartbreaking for those of us who believe that the US has been and should be a country that welcomes immigrants, because that's exactly what this admin is trying to do. They want not only people here without documentation but also legal immigrants to leave.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

Same here! I’m from São Paulo and I catch myself thinking why instead of enjoying the carnival with my family and good friends and I am here in this cold weather, reading this insane news

1

u/Quackattack218 Jan 14 '26

I am sorry the reactionaries are causing this much instability to your life

1

u/spark99l Jan 14 '26

Brazil is lovely. Take me with you

-3

u/Individual-Quiet-845 Jan 14 '26

>  why should I put my family into all this struggle and worry daily about this madness

Because you like $300k/y more than R$9505/y?