(UNITED STATES) — The U.S. State Department announced an adoption waiver on February 3, 2026, creating a case-by-case path for some children being adopted by U.S. citizens to receive immigrant visas despite a broader green card freeze that hit nationals of 75 countries.
The waiver followed an immigrant visa processing pause that took effect on January 21, 2026, after a State Department announcement on January 14, halting the issuance of immigrant visas at U.S. consulates and embassies abroad for citizens of the listed countries.
The freeze stops consular processing for visas that lead to lawful permanent residence, including family-based, employment-based, and diversity lottery categories, while leaving nonimmigrant visa categories outside its scope.
Officials tied the policy to a review of screening and vetting procedures, with an emphasis on preventing visas for applicants deemed likely to become financially dependent on U.S. public benefits. The State Department has not provided an end date for the pause.
The move quickly rippled through adoption pipelines and family immigration cases, as U.S. citizens and permanent residents waited on overseas interviews and visa issuance needed to reunite with spouses, children, parents, and other qualifying relatives.
Employers with workers abroad also faced new uncertainty, as approved immigrant visa cases could not move to issuance at consular posts for affected nationals during the pause.
At a briefing on Feb 2, 2026, Tommy Pigott, State Department spokesperson, framed the decision as a security and policy review, saying:
“The Department is pausing issuance to evaluate and enhance screening and vetting procedures—but we will never stop fighting for American citizens first.”
The adoption waiver aims to keep at least one slice of immigrant visa processing moving, after families pursuing international adoptions from countries on the freeze list saw plans stall when the pause began.
In its Feb 3, 2026 notice, the State Department set out how the exception works and directed adoptive parents to keep moving through the standard process rather than waiting for a separate clearance.
“Children being adopted by Americans can qualify for an exception, including a National Interest Exception pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 10998, if applicable. These American families should continue the normal adoption process. They should submit visa applications and attend consular interviews. They do not need to take other additional steps to be considered for a case-by-case exception,” the notice said.
The government cited Presidential Proclamation 10998 and INA § 212(f) as the legal authority for the pause. The proclamation and statute provide broad power to suspend entry or restrict visas for classes of foreign nationals.
While the freeze and waiver both center on immigrant visa processing abroad, implementation can vary by post, and consular operations typically turn on local staffing, scheduling, and document review practices.
The adoption waiver operates through a National Interest Exception, or NIE, which the State Department described as case-by-case. In practice, that frames the exception as something consular officers assess while reviewing documents and conducting interviews, rather than as a blanket exemption.
The State Department’s language also put a premium on process continuity, telling families to proceed with visa applications and interviews, even as the broader freeze remains in place for most immigrant visa categories involving affected nationals.
The green card freeze does not target nonimmigrant visas, including F-1 student visas, H-1B specialty worker visas, or visitor visas, as described in the policy summary accompanying the pause.
Adjustment of Status remains a separate route for eligible applicants already in the United States, who can seek lawful permanent residence through USCIS without consular issuance abroad.
That split between consular processing and domestic filings shapes who feels the freeze most immediately. People abroad who need an immigrant visa interview and issuance at a U.S. embassy or consulate face the pause directly, while some applicants inside the country can still move through USCIS processes if eligible.
The State Department has described the pause as indefinite. The absence of an end date has left families and employers trying to plan around an open-ended hold on overseas immigrant visa issuance for affected nationals.
Family-based immigration faces disruption outside the adoption exception. Spouses, children, parents, and other relatives of U.S. citizens and green card holders from the 75 listed countries cannot currently complete immigrant visa issuance at posts abroad while the pause stays in place.
For employment-based immigration, the freeze blocks overseas immigrant visa issuance even after an employer has cleared key stages of the process, including PERM labor certification and I-140 approval, as described in the policy summary.
The administration has placed public charge concerns at the center of its explanation, describing a renewed focus on screening that seeks to prevent visa issuance to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
Critics have argued that using public charge-related concerns as a basis for a broad pause goes beyond existing law, a debate that has sharpened as families, employers, and immigration lawyers tracked the policy’s effect across categories.
Legal challenges also began soon after the freeze announcement, with lawsuits filed questioning the policy’s legality and arguing it unlawfully blocks lawful immigration and violates federal statutes. The filings seek to shape whether and how the policy is modified or overturned.
A DHS and USCIS posture toward the broader policy shift appeared in a statement attributed to USCIS officials in the same period. Matthew Tragesser, USCIS spokesman, said:
“The distinction between legal and illegal immigration becomes meaningless when both can destroy a country at its foundation. Unchecked mass migration. strains resources and public benefits.”
The State Department remains the primary agency for overseas visa issuance, and its guidance controls how consular sections handle immigrant visa cases during the pause, including how exceptions such as the adoption waiver are routed.
The freeze list spans multiple regions, including countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Examples cited in the policy summaries include Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, Colombia, Iran, Haiti, Egypt, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Somalia and Thailand, along with Afghanistan, Russia and Syria.
The State Department described the full list as extensive and published in consular guidance that continues to evolve, with the possibility of updates as the department revises procedures and posts apply instructions.
For families pursuing international adoption, the adoption waiver creates a narrow avenue to keep moving, but it still rests on case-by-case handling tied to the NIE framework.
Consular scheduling also remains a practical constraint. Even where the waiver applies, interview timing and document review can vary by post, and the State Department’s instruction to proceed “normally” does not set a universal timeline for appointments.
The waiver’s significance lies in its direct connection to entry and lawful status for children being adopted by Americans. Without immigrant visa issuance, children abroad could remain unable to enter the United States with lawful permanent resident status through that channel.
Beyond adoption, the freeze’s operational effect remains a green card freeze for affected nationals who must consular process. The pause halts the last step that turns an approved case into an immigrant visa and, ultimately, entry as a lawful permanent resident.
Applicants who are already in the United States and qualify to file for Adjustment of Status may still do so through USCIS, which operates separately from overseas consular issuance. That divide has driven some families and employers to assess whether a U.S.-based filing route exists, while others have no alternative to waiting on consular action.
The State Department has also stressed that nonimmigrant visas are not the target of the pause, which matters for travelers, students and temporary workers whose plans do not require immigrant visa issuance.
Even so, many long-term plans still run through immigrant visas, and family and employment cases often depend on consular issuance for people who remain outside the country while petitions are approved.
For those with pending consular cases, the near-term experience can involve holds, delayed scheduling, or post-specific communications, as consular sections apply the pause to the affected nationalities and process any exceptions that officers determine apply.
The State Department has pointed adoptive families to continue submitting visa applications and attending interviews, while making clear that the exception runs through case-by-case consideration rather than an automatic clearance.
With lawsuits emerging and the government citing an ongoing screening and vetting review tied to public charge concerns, the timeline for any broader resumption of immigrant visas for affected nationals remains undefined.
Applicants and petitioners have monitored updates across agencies, with the State Department’s consular channels carrying primary weight for overseas issuance and USCIS guidance shaping domestic processes.
The State Department publishes visa news and related updates on its site, including via its visas news page at Travel.gov News, while USCIS posts immigration updates at the USCIS Newsroom and DHS press releases appear at DHS Press Releases.
For families caught in the pause while trying to bring relatives to the United States through immigrant visas, the adoption waiver offers a limited carve-out, but the broader freeze continues to keep most affected nationals from receiving immigrant visas abroad.
Pigott’s defense of the pause captured the administration’s public posture as the policy began to reshape consular processing:
“The Department is pausing issuance to evaluate and enhance screening and vetting procedures—but we will never stop fighting for American citizens first.”
U.S. Adds Adoption Waiver Amid Green Card Freeze Affecting Immigrant Visas
The U.S. State Department has authorized an adoption waiver to assist families affected by a massive immigrant visa freeze involving 75 countries. Starting February 3, 2026, adoptive children may qualify for case-by-case exceptions to secure immigrant visas. The broader pause, aimed at tightening security vetting and financial screening, continues to stall most other family and employment-based immigration categories while exempting nonimmigrant visas like student or visitor permits.
