The Trump administration is facing allegations that it defrauded $1 billion from legal migrants and U.S. sponsors while stopping or rejecting many applications linked to those payments, according to a new analysis from the Cato Institute.
Cato immigration analyst David Bier described this practice as “the largest fraud in the history of the U.S. immigration system” in a post published this week.
Bier said the alleged scheme arises from a series of actions taken by the Trump administration, involving President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow.
Cato noted that these actions include an expanded entry ban affecting 40 countries, a freeze on USCIS processing for immigrants from targeted countries already in the United States, and a State Department pause on immigrant visa issuance for nationals from 75 countries.
I estimated how much revenue the State Department and USCIS have received from legal immigrants and US sponsors for benefits that they are now banned from receiving. The answer is over $1 BILLION. That’s just from the people who would’ve been approved this year pic.twitter.com/QP1q8qCu2o
— David J. Bier (@David_J_Bier) March 18, 2026
The State Department confirmed on its website that, effective January 21, 2026, it paused immigrant visa issuance for applicants from 75 countries, including Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tanzania. The department stated that affected applicants can still submit applications, attend interviews, and go through the scheduling process, even though visa issuance is on hold.
Cato also pointed out that this combination of restrictions keeps citizens from 92 countries, including the Palestinian territories, from receiving immigrant visas and moving permanently to the United States. Bier estimated that over 320,000 immigrant visa applicants are blocked based on projections for 2024. This number rises to 561,000 when including immigrants already in the United States.
Bier’s estimate indicated that about 2 million applications affected by these restrictions carried over $1 billion in fees. He noted that the money mainly came from work permit applications, green card adjustments, and immigrant visa applications.
Cubans made up the largest share, with nearly 1 million affected applications costing around $543 million, followed by Venezuelans with 239,000 applications that cost about $138 million. Nigerians, Afghans, Haitians, and Iranians were also among the most impacted nationalities, according to the analysis.
BREAKING: As his approval ratings decline ahead of the midterms, President Trump signaled a shift on mass deportations, saying migrants “might have come in illegally, but they’re good people and cheap workers.” pic.twitter.com/XWmMYoTvgi
— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) March 6, 2026
Reuters reported in January that the Trump administration announced an indefinite suspension of immigrant visa processing for citizens of 75 countries as part of a broader immigration crackdown related to “public charge” concerns. In December, Reuters also reported that the administration paused immigration processing for nationals from 19 countries and later halted all asylum decisions while officials reviewed vetting procedures.
The State Department has also paused diversity visa issuances but continues to allow applicants to file and attend interviews. It stated that “DV applicants may submit visa applications and attend interviews, and the Department will continue to schedule applicants for appointments, but no DVs will be issued.”
Bier argued that the government is collecting fees for services it does not plan to provide. He said Congress should require the administration to resume processing and adjudicate cases under existing immigration law.
