KATHMANDU: The United States has introduced a new global visa restriction policy targeting individuals involved in cyber scams and sextortion, describing the growing wave of online crime as an unprecedented threat to American citizens.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures, saying the restrictions, implemented under the Immigration and Nationality Act, will apply not only to those directly involved in cybercrime but also to their immediate family members.
“This policy targets individuals responsible for, or complicit in, cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime,” Rubio said in a statement.
He said online investment fraud, often linked to Chinese transnational criminal organizations, defrauded US citizens of at least USD 10 billion in 2024 while fueling corruption, money laundering and human trafficking.
Rubio also raised concerns over overseas-based sextortion schemes targeting American children, saying the administration is committed to dismantling such criminal networks.
“The Trump administration is deploying every tool at our disposal—including sanctions, prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests and international law enforcement cooperation—to dismantle criminal scam networks and impose costs on those who enable them,” he said.
The new policy is part of a broader effort by Washington to strengthen national security and counter transnational crime.
It follows a separate visa restriction policy announced on July 16 targeting foreign nationals accused of supporting or facilitating terrorism and violent extremist activities.
According to the US State Department, that earlier policy covers individuals involved in terrorist financing, recruitment, logistical support, violent criminal activity and economic sabotage, with the aim of preventing foreign actors linked to terrorism or organized crime from entering the United States.
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