Skopje, 15 January 2026 (MIA) - The United States has paused the proceedings for issuance of immigrant visas but this does not affect the other procedures related to students, businesses, tourists and others, said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski on Thursday.

FM Mucunski was quizzed by reporters over the State Department's decision to temporarily freeze the process of immigrant visas for 75 countries, including North Macedonia.

"It is not a blacklist but a pause in the immigrant visa process. This does not affect other visa procedures. Businessmen who want to travel to the United States can apply for a visa, and the same goes for students and tourists," said Mucunski.

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade is in communication with the Skopje-based U.S. Embassy and the Macedonian Embassy in Washington is in contact with the State Department, adding that immigrant visas represent the smallest share of applications by Macedonian citizens, primarily seniors.

"This reminds me of the story with the tariffs. When the tariff data first emerged, I heard criticism that we were among the countries hit by the highest tarifs, but these critics are nowhere to be found after we reached agreement on the lowest tariffs for the industries that are most important to us," said Mucunski.

According to him, it is expected that long-standing issues are solved in the coming period.

"All I can say is that in the coming period, maybe the next six months, you will be positively surprised by developments in the visa policy with the United States. We are starting to close issues that have been ongoing for two decades," said Mucunski.

The FM said business, science, tourists, students are the priority, with the US visa decision not affecting these groups.

"This impacts the immigrant visas only, which have the smallest share in the US visa applications. We are solving these issues with the U.S., as shown by the fact that we have among the best tariff rates in Europe and beyond, and we expect discussions in the coming period to produce an even better outcome," underlined Mucunski.

Photo: MIA