US suspends almost all visitor visas for Palestinian passport holders: report

The measures go beyond US restrictions on Gaza residents and prevent many Palestinians from the West Bank from entering the United States for medical treatment, university studies, visits to relatives, or business travel.

By: Express Web Desk

New Delhi | Updated: September 1, 2025 10:21 PM IST

2 min read

Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy on the outskirts of Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip. (AP)

The Trump administration has enacted a sweeping suspension of nearly all visitor visas for Palestinian passport holders, The New York Times reported.

“It feels like Palestinians are always treated in an unjust way,” said Lafi Adeeb, mayor of Turmus Ayya in the West Bank, as quoted by NYT.

As per NYT, the new rules, announced in an August 18 cable sent to US embassies and consulates, instruct consular officers to invoke section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to refuse visas for Palestinian passport holders. “Effective immediately, consular officers are instructed to refuse under 221(g) of the Immigration Nationality Act (INA) all otherwise eligible Palestinian Authority passport holders using that passport to apply for a nonimmigrant visa,” the cable said, NYT reported.

Former US officials described the move as effectively a blanket rejection. “It’s an open-ended refusal,” said Hala Rharrit, a former State Department spokeswoman, according to NYT.

The decision coincides with declarations by several US allies that they plan to recognise a Palestinian state. The US has historically been Israel’s supporter in its conflict with Hamas, even as international criticism has mounted over humanitarian concerns in Gaza.

Recent visa curbs also include barring Palestinian officials, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, from attending the UN General Assembly. President Abbas’s office expressed “deep regret and astonishment” and called on the administration to “reconsider and reverse” the move, NYT reported.

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Under the UN host-country agreement, the US is generally expected to issue visas to officials attending the General Assembly, but the State Department said it was complying by allowing the Palestinian mission to participate.

“The Trump administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” the State Department said in a statement.

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