The US State Department has paused immigrant visa interviews at every US embassy and consulate in the world. A State Department official confirmed the pause to Reuters on 25 August 2026, and applicants with interviews already booked have been receiving emails saying their appointment is cancelled and will be rescheduled at a date to be announced. The department says the stop is temporary and exists so that consular officers can complete "in-depth training" on how to judge whether an applicant is likely to become a "public charge", meaning dependent on US public benefits. No end date has been given. The pause covers immigrant visas only: tourist, business, student and work visas continue to be processed as before.
Background
An immigrant visa is the document a person needs to enter the United States as a permanent resident when their green card case is processed outside the country, which is the route for most family-sponsored applicants and for employment-based applicants who are not already in the US. The consular interview is the final step after the petition is approved and the National Visa Center has collected documents. Since January the administration has tightened public-charge screening at both ends of the system. On 21 January the State Department suspended immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries on public-charge grounds; on 21 August a federal judge in Manhattan vacated that policy as beyond the Secretary of State's authority (see /news/clinic-v-rubio-75-country-immigrant-visa-ban-vacated). Separately, DHS has restored a stricter public-charge test for green card applications decided inside the US from 18 September 2026 (/news/uscis-public-charge-guidance-september-2026). The worldwide interview pause was confirmed four days after the court ruling.
What exactly changed
In a statement carried by Fox News and CNN, the department said: "In early August, we launched a global training initiative at all of our embassies and consulates worldwide. To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa services will be adjusted." The goal, it said, is "to make sure all officers are fully equipped to evaluate applicants comprehensively", with a specific focus on identifying applicants who may become a public charge. Fragomen, which has been tracking the notices its clients receive, says three things are clear: only immigrant visa interviews are paused, pre-interview processing at the National Visa Center and at posts continues, and no date for resuming interviews has been announced. No written cable, FAQ or notice had been published on travel.state.gov at the time of writing; everything public rests on the department's statements to Reuters, CNN, Fox News and the Washington Post.
What is and is not paused
- Paused: immigrant visa interviews (family-based, employment-based, diversity visa and other permanent-residence cases) at all US embassies and consulates
- Continuing: nonimmigrant visa interviews (B-1/B-2, F-1, H-1B, L-1 and others) and pre-interview document processing at the National Visa Center
- Unknown: how long the pause lasts, whether any categories are exempt, and what happens to applicants who were interviewed but have not yet received a visa
Who it affects
The people hit hardest are those whose cases had finally reached the interview stage: the spouse of a US citizen waiting abroad while their partner works in the US, an adult child sponsored under one of the family preference categories that only just became current in the September Visa Bulletin (/news/september-2026-visa-bulletin-family-dates-jump), or an employee whose employer filed an EB-2 or EB-3 petition and who chose consular processing rather than adjusting status inside the US. It also touches DV-2026 lottery winners, whose visas must be issued by 30 September 2026 or the selection is lost; a pause with no end date sits uncomfortably close to that deadline. Applicants refused under the 75-country policy whose cases the court ordered reconsidered are in the same queue, so the restart the court opened on 21 August is on hold in practice.
What to do now
If you have an interview notice, keep the date until the consulate tells you otherwise and watch the email address on your case for a cancellation or rescheduling message. Do not travel to the interview city on the strength of the original date. Keep completing anything the National Visa Center asks for: pre-interview processing has not stopped, and cases will be queued in order of readiness once interviews resume. If your medical examination or police certificates are close to expiring, ask the panel physician or issuing authority about renewal timing, since a rescheduled interview may fall outside their validity. Anyone with a US-based alternative, such as an adjustment-of-status filing for someone already lawfully in the US, should note that the stricter DHS public-charge standard applies to I-485 applications filed from 18 September. Our United States country guide (/country-guides/united-states) explains the consular and adjustment routes side by side.
When it takes effect
The pause was confirmed by the State Department on 25 August 2026 and is already being applied: scheduled immigrant visa interviews at US posts worldwide are being cancelled and will be rescheduled at an unspecified later date.
What is not yet confirmed
The State Department has not published a written notice, so the length of the pause, any exempt categories, and the treatment of applicants who have already been interviewed are unconfirmed. Check the specific embassy or consulate's website and your case correspondence for the authoritative position.
Key Takeaway
Every US immigrant visa interview is on hold with no restart date while consular officers are retrained on public-charge screening; nonimmigrant visas continue, and applicants should keep preparing their cases but not travel on the strength of an old appointment.