The U.S. State Department has paused immigrant visa (green card) appointments at embassies and consulates worldwide on August 25, 2026. According to the State Department, this is so consular officers can train on expanded public charge screening. Nonimmigrant visas, such as tourist, H-1B, and O-1 visas, continue as normal, and the department has set no end date.
Immigrant visa interviews at U.S. embassies and consulates are paused worldwide. Here is what the immigrant visa pause covers, why the State Department ordered it, who is exempt, and what applicants can expect while it lasts.
Key Takeaways
- What happened? The State Department paused immigrant visa appointments at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide on August 25, 2026.
- Why? According to the State Department, consular officers are training on expanded public charge screening, the check on whether an applicant is likely to rely on public benefits.
- Who is affected? People applying for green cards from abroad through consular processing, in both family-based and employment-based categories. Tourist, student, and work visas like the H-1B keep moving.
- Important: A canceled appointment is a scheduling change. Your petition stays valid, and embassies have said new interview dates will follow.
- Need help? Ellis attorneys build your petition and track your case and every deadline in one place. Start here →
What happened with the immigrant visa pause?
On August 25, 2026, the State Department paused immigrant visa appointments worldwide. An immigrant visa is how a person moves to the United States for good and gets a green card. Interviews for these visas at U.S. embassies and consulates are now on hold while a global training program runs. It applies at every U.S. post, so it affects family-based and employment-based applicants all over the world at once.
The pause covers immigrant visas only, so other visa types keep running on their normal schedules. Visitor, student, and temporary work visas are not affected.
Applicants who already have an appointment are getting emails that their interview is being moved, with a new date to come. For applicants in administrative processing, or waiting for a priority date to become current, the pause can add another delay on top of an existing wait.
Why did the State Department pause immigrant visa appointments?
According to the State Department, the pause is for training on public charge screening in line with the new rule. The department says consular officers are learning to apply a broader version of the test, and that appointments are paused so they can finish first.
Public charge is a long-standing rule. It lets the government deny a green card to a person it determines is likely to rely mainly on public support. According to the State Department, the new training has officers apply that test more broadly and reach consistent results across posts.
The standard reflects the administration's broader position that immigrants "must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans."
Who is affected by the pause?
The pause impacts people applying for a green card from outside the United States, who interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. This path is called consular processing. Two groups fall under it.
The first group is family-based applicants. These are the spouses, children, parents, and siblings of U.S. citizens and green card holders. They file a Form I-130 petition, fill out the DS-260 immigrant visa application through the National Visa Center, and finish with an interview abroad. That interview is now on hold.
The second group is employment-based applicants. These are workers sponsored through paths like EB-1A, EB-2, and the PERM labor certification. If they finish the last green card step abroad, they face the same paused interview.
People already in the United States are on a different path. They apply for a green card through adjustment of status with USCIS, which happens inside the country instead of at a consulate, so this pause does not reach them. Nonimmigrant visa applicants, like H-1B workers, students, and visitors, also keep their normal options. If an interview is canceled, the petition stays in place. Only the appointment moves.
What "public charge" means and why it matters here
Public charge is the test the government uses to decide whether an applicant is likely to rely mainly on public support.
For most family cases, the main answer to the public charge question is the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, in which a sponsor makes a legal promise to support the applicant financially. Officers read that promise alongside the applicant's income, savings, health, age, education, and skills. The new public charge rule sets the current standard for how those factors are weighed.
How this connects to the 75-country visa pause and the court ruling
In January 2026, the State Department paused immigrant visa issuance for people from about 75 countries it called high risk for relying on public benefits. On August 21, 2026, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York struck that policy down. In CLINIC v. Rubio, the judge ruled that it went beyond the Secretary of State's authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and ordered a return to case-by-case review.
While the January version applied to a set list of countries, this pause applies at every post and centers on the public charge check that officers run case by case. The August 21 ruling can still be appealed to the Second Circuit, and the separate country travel ban remains in effect on its own track.
Immigrant visa vs. nonimmigrant visa: what is still moving
The thing that decides whether this pause touches your case is the split between immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.
Category | What it is | Affected by this pause? |
|---|---|---|
Immigrant visa | Green card processed abroad, family or employment based | Yes. Appointments paused worldwide. |
Nonimmigrant visa | Temporary visas: visitor, student, most work visas including H-1B | No. Appointments continue. |
Adjustment of status | Green card applied for inside the U.S. through USCIS | No. Runs domestically, not at a consulate. |
Applicants preparing for a nonimmigrant visa interview are on the normal schedule, since that process continues as usual.
How long could the pause last, and what applicants can expect
The department has not given an end date. There is no timeline for the training and no date for immigrant visa scheduling to resume, and no formal notice with those details.
So far, the biggest immediate effect is rescheduling. Embassies and consulates are notifying applicants that booked interviews are moving and that new dates will follow. Because the change is only days old and the guidance is thin, the most reliable source is a direct notice from the embassy or consulate handling the case. Processing timelines remain estimates until the department says more.
How Ellis can help
Immigrant visa cases have a lot of parts, and a worldwide pause adds one more. Ellis attorneys handle the green card process from start to finish, from the I-130 or work petition through the DS-260 and the consular interview. They keep appointment changes, public charge documents, and deadlines in one place, so the case holds together while the schedule shifts. Schedule a free consult →
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice.
