The U.S. State Department announced on July 23 a new global visa restriction policy aimed at deterring and dismantling cybercrime, including cyberscams and sextortion, which have increasingly targeted American citizens.
According to the announcement, the policy is being implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It targets individuals responsible for or complicit in cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime, such as those involved in cyberscams and sextortion. Immediate family members of individuals engaged in such illicit activities may also be subjected to visa restrictions.
The statement cites President Trump’s Executive Order 14390 on Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens as a driving force behind these actions. The administration said it is responding to what it calls an unprecedented threat from online investment scams often orchestrated by Chinese transnational criminal organizations. These scams have defrauded U.S. citizens of at least $10 billion in 2024 alone while fueling corruption, money laundering, and human trafficking. The statement also highlights that American children have been specifically targeted by offenders operating overseas for sextortion scams.
“The Trump Administration is deploying every tool at our disposal—sanctions, prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests, and international law enforcement cooperation—to dismantle criminal scam networks and impose costs on those who enable them,” the statement reads. “By restricting visa issuance to those who are responsible for or complicit in these criminal enterprises, we are sending a clear message: The United States will go after those who prey on our citizens.”
The new policy involves coordination among multiple agencies including the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy; Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs; as well as collaboration with international partners.