Nearly 12 Million Haitians Sanctioned by the United States, Including Officials
This is the 'miscellaneous news' section. Nearly twelve million Haitians are affected by measures taken by the United States between 2025 and 2026, directly impacting the issuance of visas by American authorities.
By La Rédaction · Port-au-Prince · · 2 min read · Updated 24 April 2026
Translated from French — AI-assisted and reviewed by the editorial team. The French version is authoritative. Read the original · About our translation policy
By Jean Venel Casséus
This is the 'miscellaneous news' section.
Nearly twelve million Haitians are affected by measures taken by the United States between 2025 and 2026, directly impacting the issuance of visas by American authorities. These decisions, formalized by presidential proclamations and State Department announcements, concern both immigrant and non-immigrant visas and apply to Haitian nationals applying for a U.S. visa, subject to exceptions provided by official texts.
On June 4, 2025, the White House published a presidential proclamation limiting visa issuance to nationals of twelve countries, including Haiti. The text specifies that the measure concerns visa applications falling under both immigrant and non-immigrant categories. It applies to nationals located outside U.S. territory on the effective date of the decision, set for June 9, 2025, and who do not possess a valid visa. U.S. authorities indicated that visas issued before this date were not automatically canceled, but that new visa applications falling under the targeted categories were subject to the restrictions provided by the proclamation.
In December 2025, a new presidential proclamation, dated December 16 and effective January 1, 2026, maintained and adjusted this visa issuance restriction regime. This text confirmed Haiti's continued inclusion on the list of affected countries and specified the conditions for applying certain exceptions, while reaffirming the limitation on processing visa applications for Haitian nationals.
Independently of these general restrictions, the U.S. State Department announced, in January 2026, a distinct administrative measure exclusively concerning immigrant visas. Effective January 21, 2026, a pause in immigrant visa issuance was implemented for nationals of seventy-five countries, including Haiti. This measure concerns only visas leading to the acquisition of permanent resident status and does not apply to non-immigrant visas.
According to U.S. authorities, this pause suspends the issuance of new immigrant visas during the period of consular policy review, without automatically canceling already issued visas. Application procedures can be initiated, but no immigrant visa is issued as long as the measure remains in effect.
In this context, the restriction or refusal of a U.S. visa targeting a Haitian, whether an ordinary citizen or an official, no longer elicits surprise or particular reaction. The event has become routine, stripped of all symbolic significance.
Jean Venel Casséus
