U.S. Immigration Restrictions for Burmese Nationals

U.S. Immigration Restrictions for Burmese Nationals

Burma/Myanmar is currently included in the United States’ full visa suspension under Presidential Proclamation 10998, which took effect on January 1, 2026. The restrictions actually began earlier, on June 9, 2025, when Burma was placed under a full suspension covering most immigrant and nonimmigrant visa categories. The January 2026 proclamation continued that ban and made it stricter.

For most Burmese citizens who are outside the United States and did not already have a valid U.S. visa on January 1, 2026, the U.S. government currently suspends issuance of both immigrant visas and nonimmigrant visas. This generally affects family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, tourist visas, business visitor visas, student visas, exchange visas, and many other categories. Applicants may still be allowed to file an application and attend an interview, but the State Department warns that they may ultimately be ineligible for visa issuance or admission because of the proclamation.

One of the most important changes in 2026 is that several family-related exceptions were removed. Under the earlier 2025 restrictions, certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens—including spouses, minor children and parents—could qualify for categorical exceptions. Beginning January 1, 2026, those automatic exceptions for IR-1/CR-1 spouses, IR-2/CR-2 children and IR-5 parents of U.S. citizens were removed. Adoption visa exceptions were also removed as automatic categories, although adopted children may still be considered individually for a national-interest exception.

There are still limited exceptions. The current proclamation generally does not apply to lawful permanent residents (green-card holders), certain diplomatic and official travelers, dual nationals who apply using a passport from a country that is not subject to the suspension, certain Special Immigrant Visa applicants who worked for the U.S. government, and participants in certain major international sporting events. Government officials may also approve a case-by-case national-interest exception when they determine that allowing the person’s travel would serve an important U.S. interest.

The ban also does not automatically cancel a U.S. visa that was already valid before January 1, 2026. According to the State Department, the proclamation applies to people who were outside the United States on the effective date and did not hold a valid visa at that time. Visas that were valid before January 1, 2026 were not revoked simply because of this proclamation.

This means a Burmese family’s immigration situation can vary dramatically depending on when the visa was issued, whether the person is already inside the United States, whether they are a green-card holder, what type of visa they are applying for, and whether they qualify for an exception. A pending petition or an approved family petition does not necessarily mean a visa can currently be issued. For Burmese applicants with cases already at USCIS, the National Visa Center or a U.S. embassy, the immigration case itself may continue moving through certain processing steps even though final visa issuance may be blocked by the proclamation.

The restriction is therefore more accurately described as a visa-issuance and entry suspension, not a cancellation of every Burmese person’s immigration case. The underlying petition may still exist, and applicants may still be able to submit documents or attend interviews, but the final visa can remain unavailable unless the restrictions change or the applicant qualifies for an exception.