Kenya is the only East African Country (EAC) where citizens can obtain long-term immigration visas to the United States starting January 21, 2026.

This is after the U.S. President Donald Trump administration indefinitely suspended immigration visa processing from people from 75 countries, marking one of its most expansive efforts yet to restrict legal pathways to the U.S. It targets applicants deemed likely to become a “public charge”, who the U.S. described as people who may rely on government benefits for basic needs.

The latest edict brings the total number of African countries facing total or partial restrictions to 39, which is almost three-quarters of the continent’s 54 nations.

According to a January 14 U.S. Department of State statement, the sweeping list spans every major region of the world, including countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.

According to the statement, exceptions include dual nationals with a valid passport for a country not on the list if the applicant can demonstrate that their travel would serve an “America First” national interest. If a visa has already been approved but has not been printed, the consular officer “must refuse the case”.

The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people, the statement added. “We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused.”

The State Department says it has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump returned to office. In contrast, the homeland security department reported in December that more than 605,000 people have been deported, and an additional 2.5 million left the country on their own.

The pause follows Trump’s December expansion of travel bans to 39 countries, suspension of asylum processing, and halting of citizenship and green card applications for citizens of countries already subject to restrictions.

An earlier State Department memo in November 2025 instructed consular officers to weigh a range of factors, including health, age, English proficiency, finances, and even potential need for long-term medical care, to assess whether applicants are likely to rely on public benefits.

The affected African countries are Algeria, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, and Uganda.

The new list includes countries with which the U.S. has a problematic relationship, regional powerhouses, and even key U.S. allies such as Egypt, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, and countries the U.S. has been courting for their minerals, such as the DRC, Rwanda, and Guinea. Also on the list are Senegal and Liberia, among the countries that President Trump invited for his working lunch with African leaders in 2025.  

Juggling a Partnership with the U.S. and China

The developments come at a time when Kenya has struck a preliminary trade deal with China that would give 98 per cent of its exports duty-free access to the large Chinese market, the Kenyan government announced on January 15.

Kenya has been forging closer ties with China, with President William Ruto making a state visit in 2025, during which several financing and cooperation agreements were signed.

Kenya is also a close ally of the U.S. It is negotiating a separate bilateral trade accord with the Trump administration, prompting recent reports in some media outlets that closer engagement with China could anger the U.S.

“We see no tension between our concluding a market access arrangement with China on one hand, and our robust push for AGOA re-authorisation as well as a separate bilateral trade agreement with the United States, on the other,” said Korir Sing’oei, principal secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, posted on X.

President Ruto has also defended the agreement with China against criticism from some U.S. officials, stating that Kenya must export more goods to the vast Asian economy to close the trade deficit.

Why Kenya Survived

According to analysts, Kenya’s exemption is less about goodwill and more about strategic utility. This is because over the last two years, Kenya has positioned itself as a reliable security and foreign policy ally, willing to shoulder responsibilities that closely align with U.S. interests.

Central to this is the country’s leadership role in the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, where it stepped forward to lead an international force at a time when few countries were willing to do so. This move elevated Kenya’s profile in Washington, D.C., signalling a readiness to act beyond its immediate region in support of global stability.

At the regional level, Kenya remains a cornerstone of U.S. counter-terrorism efforts in the Horn of Africa, hosting key security infrastructure and cooperating closely on intelligence, training, and regional stabilisation, particularly regarding threats emanating from Somalia and the wider Red Sea corridor.

The challenge for Kenya now is how to preserve its privileged access, which will require careful diplomacy, consistent delivery on security commitments, and a delicate balancing act between national interests and U.S. expectations.