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US Halts Immigrant Visa Interviews Worldwide for Training
(MENAFN) The Trump administration has suspended immigrant visa processing across the globe, citing a need for "in-depth training" of consular staff, according to a Tuesday report from the Financial Times.
Thousands of applicants with interviews already booked at American embassies and consulates worldwide began receiving emails informing them their appointments had been pushed back, with new scheduling details to follow at an unspecified later date.
A State Department spokesperson explained the rationale to the FT, stating: "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."
According to the spokesperson, the department kicked off "a global training initiative" earlier this month designed to "ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently."
The suspension is the latest in a series of immigration crackdowns under Trump, who has moved repeatedly to restrict visa and green card issuance while effectively shutting down the nation's refugee resettlement program.
Brian Simmons, an immigration attorney with the Washington-based firm Fragomen, said the abrupt disruption has come at real cost to applicants, many of whom had "already spent thousands of dollars and disrupted their lives to attend scheduled interviews, only to have their appointments cancelled at the last minute."
No timeline for resuming appointments was offered by the State Department, which said only: "To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa services will be adjusted."
The freeze arrives just days after a federal judge struck down a related Trump administration policy that had paused immigration applications from residents of 75 predominantly low-income nations — countries officials argued were more likely to produce applicants requiring public assistance.
Thousands of applicants with interviews already booked at American embassies and consulates worldwide began receiving emails informing them their appointments had been pushed back, with new scheduling details to follow at an unspecified later date.
A State Department spokesperson explained the rationale to the FT, stating: "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."
According to the spokesperson, the department kicked off "a global training initiative" earlier this month designed to "ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently."
The suspension is the latest in a series of immigration crackdowns under Trump, who has moved repeatedly to restrict visa and green card issuance while effectively shutting down the nation's refugee resettlement program.
Brian Simmons, an immigration attorney with the Washington-based firm Fragomen, said the abrupt disruption has come at real cost to applicants, many of whom had "already spent thousands of dollars and disrupted their lives to attend scheduled interviews, only to have their appointments cancelled at the last minute."
No timeline for resuming appointments was offered by the State Department, which said only: "To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa services will be adjusted."
The freeze arrives just days after a federal judge struck down a related Trump administration policy that had paused immigration applications from residents of 75 predominantly low-income nations — countries officials argued were more likely to produce applicants requiring public assistance.
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