Visas · Tuesday, September 29, 2026
State restricts visas over corruption and narcotrafficking in the Western Hemisphere
The File desk · Sep 29, 2026, 10:15 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed (State Department release, Sept. 28, 2026)
On Sept. 28, 2026, State Department spokesman Thomas “Tommy” Pigott announced a new visa-restriction policy aimed at foreign nationals — and their immediate family — who undermine democratically elected governments through corruption or narcotrafficking. The department said it is using Legal instrument Lets the Secretary of State keep someone out of the United States when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests, including by denying or revoking visas. Legal instrument Requires designation of foreign officials, and often their families, when there is credible information of significant corruption or a gross human-rights abuse. Those designations generally bar U.S. entry. Legal instrument Lets the Secretary of State keep someone out of the United States when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests, including by denying or revoking visas.Immigration and Nationality Act §212(a)(3)(C)
Section 7031(c), National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026
Immigration and Nationality Act §212(a)(3)(C)
On Sept. 28, 2026, State Department spokesman Thomas “Tommy” Pigott announced a new visa policy for the Western Hemisphere.
It covers foreign nationals, and their immediate family, who undermine democratically elected governments through corruption or narcotrafficking.
The department said it is using Legal instrument Lets the Secretary of State keep someone out of the United States when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests, including by denying or revoking visas.Immigration and Nationality Act §212(a)(3)(C)
The immediate steps name officials in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Bolivia: 12 named visa revocations, and 9 more people rendered generally ineligible. Colombia: 2. Ecuador: 2. Peru: 1.
The release does not list the Ecuadorian names. It says “two Ecuadorian nationals.”
The department also made a public Legal instrument Requires designation of foreign officials, and often their families, when there is credible information of significant corruption or a gross human-rights abuse. Those designations generally bar U.S. entry.Section 7031(c), National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026
The same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a separate visa policy for people who block the return of abducted American children.
That policy also uses Legal instrument Lets the Secretary of State keep someone out of the United States when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests, including by denying or revoking visas.Immigration and Nationality Act §212(a)(3)(C)
Rubio wrote: “Today, I am announcing a new policy to restrict visa issuance to individuals responsible for, or complicit in, impeding the prompt resolution of international parental child abduction cases.”
The child-abduction release names no one.
What is still unknown or disputed
- Full evidentiary files behind each naming.
- Ecuador names not listed in the fetched Western Hemisphere text.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Visa Restrictions for Foreign Nationals Undermining Democratically-Elected Governments in Western Hemisphere Countries
U.S. Department of State · September 28, 2026
new visa-restriction policy under §212(a)(3)(C); named Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru actions; public
designation of Bolivia Attorney General Roger Mariaca.Legal instrument
Section 7031(c), National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026
Requires designation of foreign officials, and often their families, when there is credible information of significant corruption or a gross human-rights abuse. Those designations generally bar U.S. entry.
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/09/visa-restrictions-for-foreign-nationals-undermining-democratically-elected-governments-in-western-hemisphere-countries/
Source 2
New Visa Restriction Policy to Promptly Resolve International Parental Child Abduction Cases
U.S. Department of State · September 28, 2026
Today, I am announcing a new policy to restrict visa issuance to individuals responsible for, or complicit in, impeding the prompt resolution of international parental child abduction cases.
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/09/new-visa-restriction-policy-to-promptly-resolve-international-parental-child-abduction-cases/