Immigrant Visas Issued Abroad Fell to 26,483 in February, About Half the Level of Two Years Earlier, State Department Data Show

The State Department issued 26,483 immigrant visas worldwide in February 2026, about half the number it issued two years earlier, according to the department’s own monthly visa statistics.

In February 2024, the department issued 51,563 immigrant visas. In February 2025, the first full month of President Donald Trump’s second term, it issued 51,058. The total fell to 34,599 in January 2026 before dropping again in February.

February 2026 is the most recent month the State Department has posted. Breitbart News reported the drop on Monday, citing a New York Times report that compared February’s total with “an average of 52,000 a month in the years before Trump took office.”

What the Data Show on Immigrant Visas

Immigrant visas are issued by U.S. consulates abroad to people seeking to live in the United States permanently; the holder becomes a lawful permanent resident, or green card holder, once admitted. The monthly tables do not count people who receive green cards from inside the country through adjustment of status, so they cover only part of legal immigration.

Most immigrant visas go to relatives of U.S. citizens and green card holders. Visas for parents of U.S. citizens fell from 11,367 in February 2024 to 5,264 in February 2026, a drop of 54 percent. Visas for spouses of U.S. citizens fell from 9,341 to 6,847, down 27 percent.

The tables list no diversity visas, the lottery-based green cards, in January or February 2026. In February 2024, 4,738 were issued.

Visas in the main employment-based classes held roughly steady: 3,264 in February 2026, compared with 3,287 two years earlier.

Who Saw the Biggest Drops

Some of the steepest declines came in countries covered by the administration’s visa restrictions. Immigrant visas for people from Cuba fell from 2,287 in February 2024 to 64 in February 2026. Pakistan went from 1,981 to 63, Nigeria from 1,023 to 59, Ethiopia from 685 to 7 and Ghana from 782 to 3, according to the tables.

The Policies Behind the Drop

Effective Jan. 21, 2026, the State Department paused immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries, including Cuba, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Ghana, according to a department notice.

“President Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans,” the notice says. It says the department is reviewing its screening and vetting policies “to ensure that immigrants from high-risk countries do not unlawfully utilize welfare in the United States or become a public charge.”

That pause has since ended. The notice, last updated Aug. 28, says that as of Aug. 21, “in accordance with the Court’s order in CLINIC et al. v. Rubio, et al., the January 2026 pause of immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries is no longer in effect.” The State Department has not yet posted monthly figures covering that period.

David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, wrote in an Oct. 8 analysis that the administration also barred immigrant visas for nationals of 40 countries starting Jan. 1, 2026, and suspended the diversity visa lottery effective Dec. 23, 2025.

Bier, a critic of the cuts, wrote that “monthly legal entries had actually fallen 2.7 times more than illegal entries through February 2026.” In an Oct. 9 post on X, he wrote: “President Trump has cut every type of legal immigration. He has reduced immigrant visas by 50%, mainly for spouses, minor children, and parents of US citizens and green card holders but also employment-based immigrants and others. Again, no new laws, just a lawless presidency.”

Sources: U.S. Department of State, Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuance Statistics (tables "IV Issuances by FSC or Place of Birth and Visa Class," February 2024, February 2025, January 2026 and February 2026): https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/immigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-immigrant-visa-issuances.html ; U.S. Department of State, "Immigrant Visa Processing Updates for Nationalities at High Risk of U.S. Public Benefits Reliance" (last updated Aug. 28, 2026): https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/immigrant-visa-processing-updates-for-nationalities-at-high-risk-of-public-benefits-usage.html ; Cato Institute, David J. Bier, "President Trump Cut Legal Immigrant Entries 2.7 Times More Than Illegal Entries" (Oct. 8, 2026): https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-cut-legal-entries-27-times-more-illegal-entries ; David J. Bier on X (Oct. 9, 2026): https://x.com/David_J_Bier/status/2108547047938720223 ; Breitbart News: https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/10/19/cato-legal-migration/