- The U.S. State Department authorized non-emergency personnel departure and suspended routine visa services in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
- Consular operations across the Middle East face disruptions in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
- A sweeping policy pauses immigrant visa issuances for 75 countries, including several high-risk nations in the region.
(ISRAEL) — The U.S. Department of State authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel on March 2, 2026, and paused routine visa services in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv indefinitely as escalating conflict in the Middle East disrupted U.S. visa processing across the region. The move followed the department’s “Worldwide Caution” issued on February 28, 2026, advising Americans to exercise increased vigilance after the launch of U.S. combat operations in Iran in late February 2026 and retaliatory threats.
U.S. Embassy Israel posted: “Nonimmigrant and immigrant visa services are paused until conditions allow staff to safely resume normal processing” on its U.S. Embassy Israel visa page. Applicants with routine appointments have faced cancellations and uncertain rescheduling, while service status has shifted through rolling updates tied to security conditions and staffing.
Consular disruptions spread beyond Israel as posts limited operations under shelter-in-place orders or heightened security risks. Bahrain’s embassy in Manama closed until further notice, Iraq suspended all consular operations, and Kuwait suspended routine consular services until further notice. Qatar canceled all routine consular appointments for the week of March 1, 2026, while the United Arab Emirates canceled all visa and American Citizen Services appointments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from March 2 to March 4, 2026.
Even when posts remain open in some form, consular service changes typically separate routine work from emergency services, with routine interviews and document intake often paused first. Applicants can see appointments canceled with little notice and may wait weeks or longer for replacement slots. Posts also may reduce staffing, limit in-person access, or narrow the categories they handle as conditions evolve.
The operational turmoil has landed alongside sweeping policy moves that sharply tightened immigrant visa issuance and entry rules. Effective January 21, 2026, the State Department indefinitely paused all immigrant visa issuances for 75 countries, including Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. The department said it will conduct a “full review of all policies. to ensure that immigrants from these high-risk countries do not. become a public charge” on state.gov.
A separate restriction took effect under Presidential Proclamation 10998 on January 1, 2026, which fully or partially restricts entry and visa issuance for nationals of 39 countries. It includes a total ban on individuals using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority. In practice, the proclamation and the immigrant visa pause can block visa issuance at the window, limit eligibility to proceed, or push cases into queues that cannot move until policies change.
These constraints also created knock-on effects for the Diversity Visa program and for Adjustment of Status filings inside the United States. In late December 2025, USCIS and the State Department paused the adjudication of Diversity Visas and related Adjustment of Status applications. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem tied that pause to a security review triggered by a shooting in New England, saying it was necessary to ensure the program “does not present a threat to national security” on uscis.gov/newsroom.
The distinction between consular processing abroad and USCIS processing inside the United States has become sharper as posts close or restrict services. Consular processing requires an interview and final issuance at an embassy or consulate, so shutdowns can halt the last step even when paperwork is complete. Adjustment of Status stays inside USCIS, but the late December 2025 pause on Diversity Visa-related filings showed how a policy review can reach domestic casework too.
Humanitarian pathways have shifted in narrower, country-specific ways even as routine visa services remained disrupted. Lebanon remained designated for Temporary Protected Status until May 27, 2026, allowing eligible Lebanese nationals already in the U.S. since October 16, 2024, to remain and work legally, according to a USCIS Federal Register Notice dated Nov 27, 2024 on www.federalregister.gov. TPS protections typically include protection from removal and the ability to seek work authorization with USCIS, with eligibility tied to presence and other requirements set out in publication-driven notices.
DHS also announced on March 2, 2026, that it will terminate Yemen’s TPS designation, effective 60 days from publication. The Secretary determined that Yemen “no longer continues to meet the conditions for designation” in a notice posted to www.federalregister.gov. Termination timelines generally run off the publication clock, and they can require people who relied on TPS-linked work authorization to track re-registration, renewals, and status planning.
Backlogs and reduced processing capacity have added pressure as disruptions compound across agencies. The total USCIS pending case backlog reached a record 11.3 million by mid-2025, and processing completions dropped 18% year-over-year, according to the USCIS Q2 2025 Report on uscis.gov. With fewer completions and shifting priorities, applicants often feel delays across multiple benefit types, including work authorization tied to humanitarian programs.
For would-be immigrants outside the United States, the immigrant visa pause and consular closures left many cases stuck. Approximately 110,000 immigrant visa applicants awaiting consular processing abroad were estimated to be stuck in “indefinite delays” due to the 75-country freeze. In the Middle East, the combination of policy restrictions and operational pauses can prevent interviews from being scheduled, completed, or followed by issuance.
Applicants who do reach an interview after a disruption also can face longer administrative processing under INA 221(g). That step can require additional documents, security checks, or further review, and it can extend timelines well beyond the interview date. The State Department’s pause language and the region’s shifting operating status have added to the uncertainty about when cases can move from review to issuance.
State Department travel advisories and post-specific alerts remain the primary sources for consular operating status, including notices tied to the “Worldwide Caution” and local security conditions, through travel.state.gov. USCIS posts benefit-related updates, including TPS and work authorization information, in its newsroom at uscis.gov/newsroom, while DHS publishes broader policy announcements at dhs.gov/news. U.S. citizens in the region can use the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program for safety updates and notifications through step.state.gov as posts continue to adjust staffing and services.
