US embassy in Chad curbs issuance of most nonimmigrant visas

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Chad has suspended the issuance of most nonimmigrant visas for 90 days, the State Department said on Thursday, in the first known international travel restrictions of President Donald Trump's second term.

Chad is one of more than 40 countries the Trump administration has been considering for inclusion on a list of nations whose citizens would be subject to travel curbs similar to travel bans imposed during Trump's first term in 2017-21.

However, it was not immediately clear if the suspension at the embassy was related to that review. The Trump administration has not formally announced any travel restrictions since taking office on January 20.

A State Department spokesperson said in an email that the suspension applied to nonimmigrant tourists, business travelers and student and exchange visitors.

The spokesperson did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about the reason for the suspension or whether it was related to plans for a wider travel ban.

Chad's foreign ministry said in a statement that the embassy had informed it of the measures and that it was looking into the reasons behind them.

It added that Chadians could apply for visas at U.S. embassies in other countries, and the embassy in Chad would still issue visas to diplomats and people with U.S. residency.

An internal U.S. government memo seen by Reuters earlier this month listed Chad as one of 26 countries recommended for a partial visa suspension if it did not address deficiencies related to vetting and screening information within 60 days.

Ten countries, including Afghanistan, Iran and Cuba, were to be considered for a full visa suspension, while five more were recommended for a partial suspension without the possibility of addressing deficiencies.

During his first term, Trump imposed travel bans on more than a dozen mostly Muslim-majority countries. The policy faced repeated legal challenges and went through several iterations before it was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018.

(Reporting by Mahamat Ramadan and Aaron Ross; additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; editing by Mark Heinrich)