The United States has announced a sweeping global visa restriction policy targeting individuals involved in cybercrime, online fraud, romance scams and sextortion, with sanctions also extending to their immediate family members as part of an intensified crackdown by the Trump administration.
The new policy was unveiled on Thursday by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the measures are aimed at dismantling transnational criminal networks that exploit American citizens through sophisticated online fraud schemes.
According to Rubio, the visa restrictions are being implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act and will apply to individuals found to be responsible for or complicit in cyber-enabled crimes.
“This policy targets individuals responsible for, or complicit in, cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime, such as those involved in cyberscams and sextortion,” Rubio said.
He noted that the new restrictions are intended to ensure that perpetrators and their collaborators face tangible consequences.
“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,” he added.
In a significant expansion of the policy, Rubio disclosed that immediate family members of suspected cybercriminals could also face U.S. visa restrictions.
“Immediate family members of individuals engaged in such illicit activities may also be subjected to visa restrictions,” he stated.
The Secretary of State said the Trump administration is deploying every available instrument to disrupt global cybercrime syndicates and hold those behind online fraud accountable.
“The Trump Administration is deploying every tool at our disposal—sanctions, prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests, and international law enforcement cooperation—to dismantle criminal scam networks and impose costs on those who enable them,” Rubio said.
He alleged that many of the cybercrime operations are “often orchestrated by Chinese transnational criminal organisations,” which he said defrauded Americans of at least $10 billion in 2024 while facilitating money laundering, corruption and human trafficking.
Rubio also referenced President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14390, describing it as part of the administration’s broader strategy to combat cybercrime, investment fraud and online sextortion.
Expressing concern over the growing impact of online exploitation, the Secretary of State said children have increasingly become targets of criminals operating from overseas.
“American children have also been specifically targeted by offenders operating overseas for sextortion scams, devastating families and futures,” he said.
The announcement marks one of the most aggressive immigration-related measures yet by the Trump administration against cybercriminals, signalling a tougher stance on cross-border online fraud and international criminal syndicates.
