- No worldwide restart of immigrant visa interviews had been announced by September 26, 2026, past State’s early-to-mid-September target.
- Only missions in Hungary and Poland are confirmed to have resumed immigrant visa processing.
- The government says 43,000+ refusals fall under the ruling that vacated the 75-country ban, and it has appealed.
The State Department’s worldwide pause on immigrant visa interviews has run past the department’s own target without an announced restart. A State Department official told the Associated Press in late August that the pause, imposed so consular officers could be retrained on public-charge screening, was not expected to extend beyond early to mid-September. As of Saturday, September 26, 2026, the department has published no worldwide restart date and no list of posts that have resumed.
What has changed since the pause began is narrow. The only confirmed restarts are at U.S. missions in Hungary and Poland, which resumed immigrant visa processing in early September. Law firms report that some individual embassies have started scheduling interviews again on their own, but the department has not confirmed which ones or how many.
Free toolUSCIS Receipt Number DecoderMeanwhile the court fight over the separate 75-country visa ban has moved to the appeals stage. The government told a federal judge on September 8 that more than 43,000 immigrant visa refusals fall under her ruling, filed a notice of appeal on September 10, and has asked for a stay.
This article is a status update. For the background on how the pause started, see our reports on the worldwide appointment freeze and on what the pause covers and does not cover.
Where Things Stand on September 26
The State Department confirmed the pause on August 25, 2026. It said a “global training initiative” had begun at every U.S. embassy and consulate in early August and that appointments would be adjusted to accommodate it. The stated goal was to help officers apply public-charge standards “comprehensively and consistently.” The department has not offered any other reason, and this article does not supply one.
Applicants with interviews on the calendar received emails saying their appointments were canceled or rescheduled, often without a new date. Many August interviews were expected to move to September, October or November. A month later, that is still the only guidance most families have: wait for a notice from the post.
Timeline: From the 75-Country Ban to the Training Pause
The training pause is the third restriction on immigrant visas this year, and it arrived days after a court struck down the second. The two are legally separate, but they overlap in time and in the people they affect, which is why many applicants have trouble telling them apart.
On January 21, 2026, the State Department told consulates to stop issuing immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries, saying applicants from those countries were at high risk of becoming a public charge. A coalition led by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network sued in February. On August 21, U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas of the Southern District of New York vacated that policy, finding it exceeded the Secretary of State’s authority. Our coverage of that ruling is here. Four days later, the worldwide training pause was confirmed.
What We Know and What We Don’t
Several facts are settled. The pause applies to immigrant visa interviews at consulates abroad, not to nonimmigrant visas such as H-1B, F-1 or B-1/B-2. It does not stop U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from processing Form I-485 adjustment of status cases inside the country, although those cases now fall under the DHS public-charge rule that took effect on September 18. A canceled interview is not a denial, and applicants have not been told to file a new petition or a new Form DS-260.
Missions in Hungary and Poland are the only restarts confirmed on the record. Our report on that restart cited two people familiar with the matter who said the White House directed officials to prioritize those two missions.
Much else is unknown:
- When the training ends. The department has not said whether it is complete at any post, or what “done” means.
- Which posts are interviewing. There is no official list. Reports of individual posts scheduling again are anecdotal.
- How the backlog will be ordered. The department has not said whether canceled August and September appointments will get priority over cases that became documentarily qualified later.
- How the new training changes outcomes. No updated consular guidance on public charge has been published for applicants to read.
- What the courts will do. As of mid-September there was no ruling on the government’s stay request, and the Second Circuit appeal is at an early stage.
Who Is Affected
The pause lands hardest on family-based immigrants: spouses, parents, children and siblings of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who complete their cases at a consulate abroad. Employment-based applicants who chose consular processing instead of adjustment of status are also caught, as are Diversity Visa selectees. The table below sorts the main groups.
Employment-based applicants face a second clock. The October 2026 Visa Bulletin, which opens fiscal year 2027, had not been published as of September 26, so consular applicants cannot yet tell whether their priority dates will be current when an interview comes back. Our explainer on the delayed October bulletin covers that separately.
The Two Deadlines That Cannot Wait
Diversity Visa DV-2026. By law, DV-2026 visas can be issued only through September 30, 2026. Unused numbers do not carry over, and a selectee who is not issued a visa by that date loses the chance. With the fiscal year ending in four days, any DV-2026 selectee whose interview was canceled should contact the post in writing now, and keep proof of the attempt. Our DV-2026 deadline guide explains the rule.
Children close to 21. A derivative child who turns 21 before a visa is issued can “age out” and lose eligibility as a derivative, unless the Child Status Protection Act preserves a younger age. CSPA age depends on when a visa number became available and how long the petition was pending, and the family generally must act to seek the visa within a set window. A delay of several weeks can matter for a child near the line. Our earlier piece on age-out risk during the pause walks through the warning signs; families in this position should get case-specific legal advice.
Documents can also lapse. Medical exams and police certificates have limited validity, and a long enough delay can force applicants to repeat and pay for them again. Check the expiry of each document against a realistic interview window of several weeks.
How Rescheduling Works
For most immigrant visa cases, the National Visa Center collects documents and marks a case documentarily qualified, and then either the NVC or the embassy schedules the interview, depending on the post. When an interview is canceled, the case does not return to the start. It stays in the scheduling queue, and the new appointment notice arrives by email and appears in the applicant’s case record.
Rescheduled notices have tended to arrive with little lead time. Applicants who respond late or miss a notice risk losing a slot that may not come back quickly. Do not show up at an embassy on the original date unless the post has confirmed the appointment in writing.
What to Do Now
The restart date is outside anyone’s control, but the preparation is not. These steps apply whichever way the pause resolves.
Congressional offices can also make inquiries with the State Department on a constituent’s behalf, and in urgent cases, such as a DV-2026 selectee or a child about to age out, that can prompt a response from a post. It does not guarantee an appointment.
What Happens Next
Three developments will decide how quickly interviews come back. The first is any State Department notice that the training is complete and scheduling has resumed worldwide. The second is the court’s ruling on the government’s stay request in CLINIC v. Rubio, which controls whether the more than 43,000 refusals under the 75-country policy must be reviewed. The third is the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, which sets which preference cases can be interviewed at all once scheduling resumes.
VisaVerge will update this page when the department announces a restart or when posts confirm they are scheduling again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have immigrant visa interviews resumed?
Not worldwide. As of September 26, 2026, the State Department had announced no global restart date. Missions in Hungary and Poland resumed immigrant visa processing in early September, and some other posts are reportedly scheduling on their own, but there is no official list.
Why did the State Department pause immigrant visa interviews?
The department said consular officers at every embassy and consulate were undergoing a global training initiative on public-charge screening, and appointments were adjusted to accommodate it. It confirmed the pause on August 25, 2026 and has not given another reason.
When will immigrant visa interviews resume?
No date has been announced. A State Department official told the Associated Press the pause was not expected to extend beyond early to mid-September, but that window passed without a worldwide restart notice as of September 26, 2026.
Does the immigrant visa pause affect H-1B, F-1 or tourist visas?
No. The pause covers immigrant visa interviews at consulates abroad. Nonimmigrant visas such as H-1B, F-1 and B-1/B-2 are not affected, and USCIS continues processing Form I-485 adjustment of status cases inside the United States.
Is my immigrant visa case denied if my interview was canceled?
No. A cancellation during the pause is not a refusal. The case remains in the scheduling queue, and applicants have not been told to file a new petition or DS-260. Watch your email and your case record for a new appointment notice.
What happens to DV-2026 winners whose interviews were canceled?
DV-2026 visas can only be issued through September 30, 2026, and unused numbers do not carry over. Selectees with canceled interviews should contact their embassy or consulate in writing immediately and keep proof of the request.
What is the difference between the 75-country ban and the interview pause?
The 75-country ban, from January 21, 2026, stopped visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries; Judge Jeannette Vargas vacated it on August 21. The interview pause, confirmed August 25, is a separate worldwide scheduling halt tied to public-charge training.
How many immigrant visa refusals are covered by the CLINIC v. Rubio ruling?
In a September 8, 2026 status report, the government said more than 43,000 immigrant visa refusals fall under the court’s ruling vacating the 75-country policy. It filed a notice of appeal on September 10 and asked for a stay.
