The US authorities plan to tighten entry rules for citizens of 43 countries, including Russia and Belarus, the New York Times reported, citing its sources.
According to their information, Washington will not completely close its borders to Russians and Belarusians, but only wealthy entrepreneurs visiting the US on business matters will be able to obtain visas. Tourists and migrants from Russia and Belarus are likely to be refused, sources in the US government informed the publication.
The new entry rules to the US will affect another 41 countries. It is reported that the State Department proposes to classify these countries into three categories. Citizens of countries in the first group will be prohibited from crossing the US border. These include Afghanistan, Bhutan, Venezuela, Iran, Yemen, North Korea, Cuba, Libya, Syria, Somalia, and Sudan.
The second category includes significant restrictions on travel to the United States. These are 10 countries, which, along with Russia and Belarus, include Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Turkmenistan, Eritrea, and South Sudan.
The third group includes countries for which "information on screening is insufficient and this necessitates either a partial or complete ban on entry to the United States". These are Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Vanuatu, Gambia, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Congo, Liberia, Mauritania, Malawi, Mali, Sao Tome and Principe, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Chad and Equatorial Guinea.
At the same time, it is specified that the provided list of countries and their distribution by groups were developed by the State Department a few weeks ago and changes may be made to it.