US temporarily pauses immigrant visa processing worldwide
Key Points(5)
- The Trump administration has paused immigrant visa applications worldwide to allow for what it calls “in-depth training” of consular officers, as the US moves to further tighten immigration screening, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.
- Applicants with scheduled interviews at US embassies and consulates have received emails saying their appointments were being rescheduled and that they would be notified of new dates and times.
- The State Department said the move was intended to ensure visa applicants were not likely to become dependent on US public assistance.
- “A more prosperous America means ensuring that visa applicants are not likely to become a public charge, as defined under US law and regulation, and not likely to become dependent on US public benefits reserved for qualified Americans in need,” a State Department spokesperson told the FT.
- The department this month launched “a global training initiative” to “ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently,” the spokesperson said.
The U.S. government has temporarily paused immigrant visa applications worldwide as it conducts what the State Department describes as “in-depth training” for consular officers amid tighter scrutiny of applicants, according to the Financial Times.
Applicants who had interviews scheduled at U.S. embassies and consulates have received emails informing them that their appointments are being rescheduled and that they will be notified of new dates and times, the FT reported Tuesday.
The State Department said the initiative is intended to strengthen how consular officers determine whether visa applicants are likely to become dependent on public assistance in the United States.
“A more prosperous America means ensuring that visa applicants are not likely to become a public charge, as defined under US law and regulation, and not likely to become dependent on US public benefits reserved for qualified Americans in need,” a State Department spokesperson told the FT.
The department said it launched a “global training initiative” this month aimed at ensuring consular officers are prepared to evaluate applicants comprehensively and consistently.
“To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa services will be adjusted,” the department said.
No date has been announced for the resumption of appointments.
The development comes as the U.S. government continues efforts to tighten immigration screening, including increased scrutiny of whether prospective immigrants could become reliant on government assistance.
The pause also follows a federal judge’s ruling last week striking down a separate suspension of immigration applications involving nationals of 75 countries, many of them lower-income nations, whose citizens the administration had identified as potentially more likely to require public assistance.
The latest measure applies to immigrant visa processing worldwide, rather than only applicants from the countries affected by the earlier policy.
