Posted on 08/16/25
| News Source: JPost
The US State Department is halting all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza while it conducts "a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days," it said on Saturday.
The department said "a small number" of temporary medical-humanitarian visas had been issued in recent days but did not provide a figure.
The US issued more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas, which permit foreigners to seek medical treatment in the United States, to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document, according to an analysis of monthly figures provided on the department's website. That figure includes 640 visas issued in May.
The State Department's move to stop visitor visas for people from Gaza comes after Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and an ally of President Donald Trump, said on social media on Friday that the Palestinian "refugees" had entered the US this month.
Loomer's statement sparked outrage among some Republicans, with US Representative Chip Roy, of Texas, saying he would inquire about the matter and Representative Randy Fine, of Florida, describing it as a "national security risk."
The Trump administration in April ordered a social media vetting for all US visa applicants who have been to the Gaza Strip on or after January 1, 2007, an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters showed.
The order to conduct a social media vetting for all immigrant and non-immigrant visas should include non-governmental organization workers as well as individuals who have been in Gaza for any length of time in an official or diplomatic capacity, the cable said.
"If the review of social media results uncovers potential derogatory information relating to security issues, then a SAO must be submitted," the cable said, referring to a security advisory opinion, which is an interagency investigation to determine if a visa applicant poses a national security risk to the United States.
Trump also signed a proclamation in June banning the nationals of 12 countries from entering the United States, saying the move was needed to protect against "foreign terrorists" and other security threats.
The countries affected are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, will be partially restricted.