US pauses immigrant visa processing, spurring uncertainty, lawyers say
Christian Science Monitor · C · trust 50/100
| Jose Luis Magana/AP/File The U.S. Department of State building is seen in Washington, Dec. 7, 2024. Loading...
The U.S. government has paused immigrant visa interviews abroad, lawyers say, as the Trump administration continues to limit lawful ways to enter the country.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association says it has received notice of the State Department canceling immigrant visa application interviews across the globe.
Those applicants “did what the government asked them to do,” including security vetting, says Shev Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations at the association. “These roadblocks are just really playing with people’s lives.”
The U.S. government has canceled immigrant visa interviews at consulates around the world. Applicants and their lawyers are uncertain when processing the visas might resume, as the State Department says it is newly training consular officers to vet visa seekers.
The move squares with the administration’s goals to restrict lawful immigration, including through refugee admissions, temporary protections, and a process called parole. The interview pause also seems to align with a broader visa-revocation campaign , and enhanced scrutiny of those who might become a “public charge” and rely on public funds.
The State Department, which did not explicitly confirm the processing pause, says the Trump administration is protecting Americans by “upholding the highest standards of screening and vetting of visa applicants.”
“Since early this year the State Department has been working on updating guidance and training related to public charge to ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement signed by the press office.
The department “launched a global training initiative” in early August at all embassies and consulates, the statement said. “To accommodate this in-depth training, appointments for visa services will be adjusted.”
The pause comes as a federal judge in New York ruled this month against the administration’s prior immigrant visa freeze for citizens of 75 countries. That policy was “contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority,” Judge Jeannette Vargas wrote in an Aug. 21 order .
Ramon Curiel, a Texas immigration lawyer, says a client had already traveled several hundred miles for an interview at the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, when they received an email about the meeting’s cancellation. The email gave no reason or date for rescheduling, he says, and a sign outside the consulate repeated the news.
“It’s a shock,” says Mr. Curiel, who notes that processing visa applications can take a few years.
There are two main types of U.S. visas: nonimmigrant and immigrant.
Nonimmigrant visas are for temporary travel to the United States, such as for work, school, or tourism. So far, the latest pause doesn’t appear to affect those visas.
Instead, recently canceled interviews involve immigrant visas, lawyers say. Those visas lead to lawful permanent residence – also known as a green card – upon arrival. Family or employment ties, among other factors, can make foreigners eligible for these visas.
In theory, the State Department can deny visas for applicants deemed likely to become a public charge, for example by relying on public benefits in the U.S. But enforcement has been “practically impossible,” because of affidavits that U.S. supporters can file, says Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former Foreign Service officer.
Mr. Hankinson supports more public-charge enforcement – especially with the high national debt , he says.
Deepen your worldview with Monitor Highlights.
Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads .
There's a world of new ideas in every Books newsletter .
There’s more to life, enrich yours with Culture & Learning weekly.
Follow humanity’s discoveries with Science & Nature stories in your inbox.
Gain a spiritual perspective from the stories in your inbox.
Want to understand the deeper impact of critical events? Learn the Monitor’s insight.
Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox.
Thank you for signing up for a free Monitor Newsletter!
For now, confusion mounts as visa applicants – and those who counsel them – wait for more information.
Practicing immigration law under this administration, the lawyer Mr. Curiel says, is like “trying to build a house in the middle of an earthquake.”
Monitor journalism changes lives because we open that too-small box that most people think they live in. We believe news can and should expand a sense of identity and possibility beyond narrow conventional expectations.
Our work isn't possible without your support.
We want to hear, did we miss an angle we should have covered? Should we come back to this topic? Or just give us a rating for this story. We want to hear from you.
Read the original at Christian Science Monitor →
Open in TruthVane →