Update, September 29, 2026: The University of Michigan International Center reports that a September 10 State Department cable instructed embassies and consulates to resume processing and issuing Immigrant visaA visa issued at a consulate to a person intending to live permanently in the United States. On admission the holder becomes a permanent resident.See it in the glossary. Scheduling can still vary by post, so follow the written instructions from your own embassy or consulate. The sections below record what was known when the pause began.
On 25 August 2026, a State Department official confirmed that the agency had paused immigrant visa interview appointments at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. Applicants with interviews already on the calendar have been receiving notices that their appointments are cancelled and will be rescheduled later. The Financial Times reported the cancellation emails the same day, and Reuters reported the pause shortly after.
The stated reason
The Department attributes the pause to a global training initiative for consular officers, launched in early August, covering updated public charge screening guidance. Public chargeA ground of inadmissibility for applicants an officer finds likely at any time to become a public charge. For Form I-485 filings on or after September 18, 2026, USCIS guidance lets officers weigh a wider range of means-tested public benefits, not only cash assistance.See it in the glossary screening is the assessment of whether a person seeking to immigrate is likely to become primarily dependent on government assistance.
When we first published, the Department had not announced how long the pause would last, whether every consular post was affected in the same way, or a firm date for resuming normal scheduling. A State Department official told the Associated Press the pause was expected to be temporary and was not expected to extend beyond early to mid-September, but no restart date has been published.
Who is affected
The pause applies to immigrant visa applicants processing at consulates abroad. That includes many family-sponsored and employment-based green card applicants going through Consular processingApplying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, as an alternative to adjustment of status inside the United States.See it in the glossary.
Nonimmigrant visaA visa for a temporary stay for a specific purpose, such as study, tourism, or employment, for example F-1, B-2 or H-1B.See it in the glossary categories are not part of this action. Tourist, student and temporary work visa appointments continue, though some posts have separately rescheduled nonimmigrant appointments for their own reasons.
Adjustment of status inside the United States is not paused. USCIS continues to adjudicate Form I-485Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, the form used to apply for a green card from inside the United States.See it in the glossary applications.
What sits behind it
Two separate developments form the context.
First, the pause follows a federal court decision on 21 August 2026 vacating a separate State Department policy that had suspended immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries. The Department has not linked the training to that ruling.
Second, a new Department of Homeland Security public charge policy took effect for Adjustment of statusThe process of applying for a green card from within the United States, rather than through a consulate abroad. Filed on Form I-485.See it in the glossary applications on 18 September 2026. The State Department has not said the training is preparation for that framework. State Department policy for immigrant visa applicants has historically tracked DHS policy for adjustment applicants, so the timing has drawn attention, but the Department has not confirmed a connection.
What this does not mean
A cancelled or postponed interview is a scheduling action. It is not a denial, and it is not a cancellation of the underlying immigrant visa case. The National Visa Center (NVC)The State Department office that collects fees and documents from approved petitioners before a case is scheduled at a consulate.See it in the glossary and consular post communicate case-specific scheduling and document requirements. A scheduling pause does not by itself cancel the underlying application’s requirements.
Postponed appointments require rescheduling. The length of any resulting delay depends on consular capacity and the procedures in place when scheduling resumes.