State Dept. Shuts Down Country’s Entire Visa Program After They Refusing Deportees

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Saturday that the United States is revoking all visas held by South Sudanese nationals and halting the issuance of new ones, effective immediately.

The move comes amid ongoing frustrations over what Rubio called “the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner,” according to a statement he posted on X.

The U.S. Department of State also released a statement on Saturday, saying the action was necessary due to the refusal of South Sudan’s leadership to cooperate in accepting deported citizens.

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“Enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States,” the statement read.

“Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them.”

According to the department, the U.S. “will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation.”

The statement added that it is time for the transitional government of South Sudan to “stop taking advantage” of the United States.

I am taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and to restrict any further issuance to prevent entry into the United States, effective immediately, due to the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 5, 2025

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South Sudan is currently facing severe instability, with rising armed conflict, widespread displacement, and worsening food insecurity pushing the country toward civil war.

The breakdown of cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities adds to the mounting concerns about the country’s internal governance and foreign relations.

The visa freeze marks a sharp shift in U.S. policy toward South Sudan, and it adds another layer to a growing list of immigration enforcement measures taken under the Trump administration since it returned to power in January.

The decision also follows the earlier suspension of operations by the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, which ceased visa, passport, and routine consular services on April 22, 2023.

While the embassy’s closure primarily related to security concerns in Sudan, it has had ongoing effects on diplomatic and immigration procedures in the region.

Saturday’s action also comes just weeks after the Trump administration moved to lift a long-standing deportation shield for Venezuelan nationals in the United States.

In February, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 300,000 Venezuelans who had previously been shielded from removal due to political and humanitarian crises in their home country.

Since President Trump took office earlier this year, the administration has deported over 100,000 illegal migrants, according to a report by the New York Post citing a Department of Homeland Security official.

The visa suspension for South Sudanese nationals appears to be part of a broader push by the Trump administration to reassert immigration enforcement and pressure foreign governments to cooperate with U.S. deportation efforts.

Similar actions have been taken in the past against countries that failed to repatriate their citizens, although the scale and speed of current actions mark a more aggressive approach.

At this time, it is unclear how long the visa suspension will remain in place or what specific benchmarks South Sudan’s government would need to meet for the policy to be reversed.

However, the State Department emphasized that compliance and cooperation with international norms around repatriation are non-negotiable expectations.

The move is expected to affect South Sudanese nationals currently residing in the U.S. on valid visas as well as those who may have planned to travel for educational, business, or humanitarian reasons.

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