State Department Pauses Immigrant Visa Appointments Worldwide Days After a Judge Struck Down Its 75-Country Ban

The State Department has paused immigrant visa appointments at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide so consular officers can complete what a spokesperson called a global "in-depth training" initiative, launched in early August, on screening applicants likely to become a public charge. The spokesperson told The Hill that "appointments for visa and services will be adjusted" and that posts communicate changes directly to applicants. The department has not said how long the pause will last.

The pause follows an Aug. 21 ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas vacating Trump's suspension of visa processing for nationals of 75 countries; Vargas held the administration exceeded its authority and that nationality does not establish that a person lacks the means to support themselves. A worldwide training pause reaches the same population of applicants through a different mechanism, without the country list the court rejected.

No end date has been announced, and the department has not published the training curriculum. The administration separately said this week it is moving to revoke short-term visas from people who entered and then filed asylum claims.