The U.S. State Department has reportedly suspended visa approvals for almost all Palestinians seeking to enter the country.
An internal message from Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed all U.S. embassies to refuse various types of visas, including those used by students, people visiting friends, business travelers, and patients seeking medical treatment.
The missive, which concerned nonimmigrant visas, was dated August 18 but was “effective immediately,” according to the New York Times, which broke the story on Sunday.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House seeking further information and comment.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks alongside President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on August 26, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks alongside President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on August 26, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Why It Matters
The news comes amid the bitter war being waged within Palestine by longtime US-ally Israel, following the attack in October, 2023, by Hamas, who killed 1,200 Israeli civilians and abducted 250 hostages.
The subsequent war against Hamas has decimated swathes of the territory, killed an estimated 61,000 Palestinians, and the United Nations has blamed Israel for unleashing a man-made famine it described as a “failure of humanity.”
Some countries, including the U.K, Canada, and France, have confirmed they are considering plans to recognize Palestine as a state for the first time. However, the cable sent to embassies by the U.S. reportedly reiterated that “the United States does NOT recognize the PA [Palestinian Authority] as a ‘foreign government.'”
What To Know
The tightening of visas for Palestinians first filtered down on August 16, when the State Department suspended visitor visas for people from Gaza.
Then, on Friday last week, reports revealed that the US had also denied visas for members of the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It means that PA President Mahmoud Abbas will be unable to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month.
Over the weekend, it subsequently emerged that visa restrictions had also been extended to Palestinians from the West Bank along with Palestinian passport holders who are living overseas.
The visa suspension would “ensure that such applications have undergone necessary vetting and screening protocols to ensure the applicant’s identity and eligibility for a visa under U.S. law,” the State Department’s diplomatic cable said, according to CNN.
The restrictions all apply to non-immigration visas, relating to planned trips rather than those seeking to move to the US for a longer duration.
What People Are Saying
A State Department spokesperson was quoted by CNN as saying: “The Trump administration is taking concrete steps in compliance with U.S. law and our national security in regards to announced visa restrictions and revocations for PA passport holders. Every visa decision is a national security decision, and the State Department is vetting and adjudicating visa decisions for PA [Palestinian Authority] passport holders accordingly.”
What Happens Next
The visa crackdown is now in effect for Palestinian passport holders seeking nonimmigrant visas to the US.
In the meantime, the war rumbles on and diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed and the unfolding famine continue.