US announces visa restriction policy on cyber criminals, their immediate family members

WASHINGTON: The US has announced a new global visa restriction policy trageting foreign nationals involved in cybercrime and ​cyber-enabled crimes.

Under the new policy, individuals engaged in online investment scams, sextortion and related offences — and their immediate family members — could be barred from entering the country.

Announcing the policy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move was part of the Trump administration’s broader campaign to combat cybercrime, fraud and predatory online schemes targeting American citizens.

Rubia said in a statement that Trump had made clear in an executive order that “his administration is taking action to counter an unprecedented threat from online investment scams”.

The secretary said online investment scams, many allegedly “orchestrated by Chinese transnational criminal organisations, defrauded US citizens of at least $10 billion in 2024 while also fueling corruption, money laundering and human trafficking”.

He added that American children had also been specifically targeted by overseas-based sextortion schemes, causing severe emotional and financial harm to victims and their families.

Under the new policy, visa restrictions may be imposed on individuals found responsible for or complicit in cybercrime and cyber-enabled criminal activities, including cyberscams and sextortion, Rubio said, adding immediate family members of such individuals may also be subject to the restrictions.

The statement added the US would use a range of measures — including, sanctions, criminal prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests and enhanced international law enforcement cooperation — to dismantle criminal networks operating across borders.

“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,” Rubio said.

Although the policy does not name any specific country other than referring to Chinese criminal organisations allegedly involved in investment scams, it applies globally and could affect nationals of any country found to be participating in cyber-enabled criminal activities. ...