State Department pauses all immigrant visa processing pending new public-charge guidance
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The State Department has temporarily halted issuance of immigrant visas while consular officers receive training on revised public-charge rules, with the pause expected to end by mid-September.
The U.S. State Department announced a temporary suspension of all immigrant visa applications to allow consular staff worldwide to receive briefings on a revised public-charge policy. The pause, which began in early August, is projected to conclude by early to mid-September, according to an unnamed department official. Interviews scheduled for August will be rescheduled for later months, but none have been cancelled.
The new guidance focuses on applicants who might become a “public charge,” meaning they could rely on government assistance such as food stamps, Medicaid or housing vouchers. Family-based immigrant visas are most likely to be affected, while employment-based visas that demonstrate sufficient earnings are exempt.
Separately, the administration is preparing to revoke up to 200,000 B-1 and B-2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to individuals who have applied for asylum, a move that could become the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history. Officials said the action is intended to signal a stricter enforcement stance and is expected to be coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security.
Experts noted that the revocation would not impact asylum seekers already in the United States, as their status depends on pending asylum proceedings rather than the underlying tourist or business visa. The pause and potential revocations are likely to prompt legal challenges, observers said.
"The thing linking them is a general philosophy that immigration is bad for the United States and that the Trump administration is looking for all of the ways it can to button down our immigration system to allow in fewer people," said Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute.
"People in the U.S. and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims. Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws," said Christopher Landau, deputy secretary of state.