Skip to content
ThreadOut
Austin Kocher, PhD@ackocher · Mar 23, 2026

The US government collected over $1 billion in immigration fees then refused to process the applications. No denials.…

9 tweets1 min read♥ 14.2Koriginal

Summary

The US government has collected over $1 billion in immigration fees while blocking citizens from 92 countries from obtaining visas through multiple executive proclamations, with no denials, refunds, or explanations—affecting over 561,000 applicants and constituting what experts call the largest fee fraud in American immigration history. The State Department is allegedly instructing officials not to inform applicants they're banned while continuing to process fees, leaving affected groups like Cubans (543 million in fees) and Venezuelans (138 million) in indefinite limbo without statutory authority.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    The US government collected over $1 billion in immigration fees then refused to process the applications. No denials. No refunds. Just silence. This is the largest fee fraud in the history of the American immigration system. Here's what's happening. 🧵

  2. #2

    Three separate policies (signed by Trump, Secretary Rubio, and USCIS head Edlow) now bar citizens of 92 countries from receiving immigrant visas. That covers roughly half of all legal immigrants entering the US from abroad.

  3. #3

    A December 2025 proclamation alone blocks 1 in 5 legal immigrants from entering the US. It covers major origin countries including Cuba, Venezuela, Nigeria, Haiti, and Iran, with no end date and no refunds for fees already paid.

  4. #4

    Sponsoring a spouse costs US citizens up to $2,675 in fees alone, $675 to petition, $1,440 to adjust status, $560 for a work permit. The government is cashing those checks and then doing nothing. That's fraud not delay.

  5. #5

    Cubans are the most affected: nearly 1 million blocked applications totaling $543 million in fees. Venezuelans follow with 239,000 applications and $138 million. Nigerians, Afghans, Haitians, and Iranians round out the top groups.

  6. #6

    The State Department is actively instructing consular officers NOT to tell applicants they're banned, even as those applicants pay fees and attend interviews.

  7. #7

    Over 561,000 people (including those already living in the US for decades) are now blocked from obtaining legal permanent residence. Work permits, green cards, status adjustments: all frozen with no statutory authority cited.

  8. #8

    The administration has also stopped publishing most immigration statistics making it even harder to track the full damage.

  9. #9

    Full analysis: cato.org/blog/banned-im… More at austinkocher.substack.com