The US State Department has paused immigrant visa interviews at embassies and consulates worldwide since around 25 August 2026, according to Reuters and the Financial Times, while consular officers complete training on "public charge" screening. No State Department notice confirms this directly; applicants with green-card interviews are getting rescheduling emails with no new date given.
In this guide4 sections
What is reported, and by whom#
Reuters and the Financial Times both reported on 25-26 August that a State Department spokesperson confirmed the pause, describing it as a "global training initiative" that began in early August. The Financial Times quoted the spokesperson directly: officers are being trained so that visa applicants are "not likely to become a public charge... or dependent on US public benefits." Coverage has since spread through the Christian Science Monitor, Fox News, The Hill, immigration-law firm Fragomen, and Indian outlets including The Week — all converging on the same facts: worldwide scope, no end date, and interviews already on the calendar being cancelled and rescheduled.
What we could not confirm#
We checked the State Department's own visas-news listing, in.usembassy.gov, ustraveldocs.com/in and the Federal Register directly on 28 August 2026 — none carries an official notice about this pause, a gap that has now held for four days. We are publishing because the reporting is wide, consistent and sourced to a named spokesperson, but readers should treat it as reported, not government-confirmed, until travel.state.gov posts its own notice.
Who it touches#
Every source describes the pause as covering immigrant visa interviews only — the green-card route, including the family- and employment-based categories where India already faces long per-country backlogs (see our September 2026 Visa Bulletin coverage). Nonimmigrant B1/B2 tourist and business visas are not reported as affected.
What to do if you have an interview scheduled#
Watch for a rescheduling notice from your visa application center rather than assuming your date still holds. Reporting says the department has not said when normal scheduling resumes, so keep checking your case status and expect the next available slot to move with little warning once bookings restart, much like the swings already seen in interview wait times this year.
VisaGyan is an independent journal, not affiliated with the US government. This report relies on Reuters, Financial Times and other press coverage because no direct State Department notice was found as of publication — verify your own case status at ustraveldocs.com before making travel plans.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this affect Indians applying for a US tourist (B1/B2) visa?
- No. Every outlet we checked — Reuters, the Financial Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Fragomen — describes the pause as covering immigrant visa interviews only, the green-card route. Nonimmigrant categories such as B1/B2 tourist and business visas are not reported as affected.
- Has the State Department confirmed this on travel.state.gov or in.usembassy.gov?
- No. Checked directly on 28 August 2026, neither travel.state.gov's visas-news listing, in.usembassy.gov, ustraveldocs.com/in nor the Federal Register carries any notice about a training pause. This article relies on press reporting, not a government statement — treat the details as reported, not officially confirmed, until travel.state.gov posts its own notice.
- Is this the same as the January 2026 pause for 75 countries?
- No. That earlier restriction named a specific list of 74-75 countries assessed as high public-benefits risk, and India was not on it. The pause reported since 25 August 2026 is a separate, blanket training-related suspension that reporting says covers immigrant visa interviews at every post worldwide, India included.
- What should someone with a scheduled immigrant-visa interview do?
- Watch for a rescheduling notice from your visa application center rather than assuming your date still holds. Reporting says the department has not said when normal scheduling resumes, so check your case status regularly and expect the next available slot to move with little warning once bookings restart.