The US State Department has suspended processing of immigrant visas from 75 countries, including Pakistan but not India. This action followed President Donald Trump's social media post that listed, without context, the percentage of immigrant households from these countries that rely on the US government financial assistance. While Mr. Trump’s post singled out immigrants, the fact is that the term “financial assistance” as used by him includes social security and Medicare payments which are entitlements received by all senior citizens, both naturalized and US-born. It listed immigrant households from Bhutan (81.4%), Yemen Arab Republic (75.2%) and Somalia (71.9%) as the top three "Welfare Recipients". It also included Afghanistan (68.1%), Burma (59.2%), Bangladesh (54.8%), Pakistan (40.2%) and China (32.9%). India was not shown on this list.  A US State Department statement explained the decision to suspend immigrant visa processing as follows:  "President Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans.  The Department of State is undergoing a full review of all policies, regulations, and guidance to ensure that immigrants from these high-risk countries do not utilize welfare in the United States or become a public charge". A look at the detailed data shows that non-citizen immigrants consumed 54% less welfare than native-born Americans. 

President Trump's Social Media Post on Welfare Receiving Immigrant ...

It is important to understand that the data President Trump shared is for households, not individuals. It includes the entire household as recipients of government assistance even if a single individual in that household receives such assistance. Second, the definition of "welfare recipient" in Trump's data includes all government programs, including the entitlement programs like social security and medicare which all senior US citizens receive. Third, the households on non-immigrant visas which are ineligible for government assistance but are counted in the total number households surveyed for this data. For example, millions of H1B visa holders and foreign students on F-1 visa from India are not eligible for such assistance, resulting in a significantly lower percentage of Indian households receiving government assistance. 

The median annual income of Pakistani-American households was $108,100 in 2023, higher than $105,600 for Asian-American households overall.  The median annual income of Indian-American households was $151,200 in 2023, the highest among all ethnic groups in America.  GCBE1, a visa consultancy, explains why certain groups, such as Indians, do not appear in Trump's list in the following excerpt: 

"While the welfare chart provides a snapshot, it does not explain why certain groups appear or how participation is measured. Critics argue that without clear definitions of “welfare” or adjustments for income and immigration status, the data can be easily misinterpreted. Groups with high numbers of legal permanent residents and U.S. citizens in mixed-status households might show welfare usage even if non-citizen members are ineligible. Others point out that immigrant households may include U.S.-born children receiving benefits; yet these metrics are not broken down in the shared data".

Per Capita Welfare Consumption by Native Born vs Immigrants in US. ...

President Trump's post is part of his larger anti-immigration theme to please his MAGA base. But a Cato Institute study found that all immigrants consumed 21% less welfare and entitlement benefits than native-born Americans on a per capita basis in 2022, based on data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Immigrants were 14.3% of the US population and consumed just 11.9% of all means-tested welfare and entitlement benefits that year. Here's an excerpt of the Cato study:

"The biggest myth in the debate over immigrant welfare use is that noncitizens — which includes illegal immigrants and those lawfully present on various temporary visas and green cards — disproportionately consume welfare. That is not the case. Noncitizen immigrants consumed 54 percent less welfare than native-born Americans. Non-citizens were 7.3 percent of the population and consumed just 3.5 percent of all welfare and entitlement benefits. In total, noncitizens consumed $109.4 billion in benefits in 2022".