site.btaUS Immigrant Visa Freeze for North Macedonia Sparks Political Debate in Skopje

The inclusion of North Macedonia in the list of 75 countries for which the US has frozen processing of applications for immigrant visas continues to be a major topic in the country.

After visiting a renovated sports hall in Kratovo on Friday, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski stated that "good news for Macedonian citizens" is expected in the coming days. A similar statement was made on Thursday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Timco Mucunski, who said that the US decision puts procedures related to immigrant visas "on pause" and does not mean "North Macedonia has been blacklisted." 

"We are in communication with the US Embassy in Skopje regarding immigrant visas, and our embassy communicates with the US Department of State. According to our information, the smallest number of applications in our country is for this type of visa (immigrant), and they are mostly from older citizens. For all other types of visas, there are no restrictions. Leave it to our communication and the fact that we have excellent cooperation with our strategic partner. Perhaps in the next six months you will be positively surprised by developments in US visa policy towards our country, meaning we will start resolving issues we have been trying to close for 20 years," Mucunski said.

At a press conference earlier on Friday, Andrej Zernovski, a member of the Executive Board of the opposition SDSM, said that the US decision is "an alarm showing that isolationist policies are costly for the country," adding that the decision "is a political sign and a warning, not a technical pause," and that "Washington is closely monitoring the situation in the country and sees problems in institutional functioning."

Speaking to the 24 Info ontline news outlet, former ambassador Risto Nikovski said that the US administration’s decision is not a surprise and that the list of 75 countries is not random. "The Americans have long conducted detailed analyses of which countries’ citizens misuse visas – whether through overstaying or using social assistance. Our evaluation based on this is not favourable, and that is a fact," Nikovski said, noting that North Macedonia is under the illusion of having a strategic partnership with the US. "We are partners because we fulfil all requirements, but they are not our partners. No one can say how long this measure will last. It depends entirely on the assessments of US institutions, not on our expectations or diplomatic statements," he added. 

Another former ambassador, Ljupco Arsovski, also believes that mass emigration, citizen distrust in institutions, and lack of economic prospects directly influence perceptions of North Macedonia as a country with high migration risk. "The administration is sending a clear signal that it sees a problem. People leave because they do not see a future at home, which makes them potential candidates for illegal or prolonged stay in the United States," Arsovski said.

According to the Plus Info news website, the number of immigrant visas for North Macedonia's citizens issued by the US has declined over the past decade. "According to a US Department of State report, in 2024, 573 Macedonian citizens were issued immigrant visas. A similar number – 522 visas – were issued in 2023. By comparison, 1,318 such visas were issued in 2015 and 1,354 in 2016,” the outlet reported.