The United States announced that, under its new international policy, immediate family members of those who commit or assist in cybercrime, including cyberscams and what they called “sextortion,” may also be subject to severe visa restrictions.
The policy, which was implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, targets those who commit or are complicit in cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime, according to a news release issued by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 23, 2026.
According to the statement, “Immediate family members of individuals engaged in such illicit activities may also be subjected to visa restrictions.”
In order to address an unprecedented threat from online investment frauds, the administration issued the policy as part of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14390 on combating cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes against American residents.
The policy was unveiled as part of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14390 on combating fraud, cybercrime, and predatory schemes against people of the United States. The administration said that the order was intended to combat an unprecedented threat from online investment frauds.
The statement says that scammers, frequently working with Chinese transnational criminal organisations, scammed US people of at least $10 billion in 2024 while encouraging human trafficking, money laundering, and corruption.
It further stated that criminals working abroad had targeted American youngsters expressly for sextortion schemes, “devastating families and futures.”
According to Mr. Rubio, the Trump administration is using every resource at its disposal, sanctions, prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests, and international law enforcement cooperation, to break up criminal fraud networks and punish those who support them.
“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.
Source: newsthemegh.com