U.S. State Department Resumes Immigrant Visa Processing for Hungary and Poland

The State Department resumed immigrant visa processing for Hungary and Poland last week, reopening work at U.S. missions in the two countries while a temporary appointment pause continues elsewhere.

The change applies to immigrant visa applications. It does not reopen every visa category, according to the information provided about the policy shift.

The administration was still implementing the change Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Immigrant visa appointments at other posts remained paused.

The reopening follows months of disruption. It does not represent a global restart.

Two people familiar with the matter said the White House directed officials to prioritize the missions in Poland and Hungary. The directive narrowed the scope of the restart to those posts while the wider pause stayed in effect.

“The directive to prioritize immigrant visas at the U.S. missions in Poland and Hungary came from the White House”

The current arrangement separates application processing from the broader appointment suspension. Applicants at the two selected missions are covered by the restart, while appointments at other posts remain subject to the temporary pause.

The reopening covers immigrant visa work, not every visa category

The action concerns immigrant visa applications rather than the entire U.S. visa system. That distinction limits the policy change to people seeking immigrant visas through the affected missions.

Officials gave no specific effective date beyond “last week.” The State Department’s implementation was continuing as of September 8, 2026, leaving the precise timing of the operational change tied to that rolling description.

The policy also does not create a stated reopening date for other posts. Their immigrant visa appointments remained paused when the latest change was being implemented.

A January suspension led to a broader pause after court action

The current pause grew out of a January State Department decision involving 75 countries. The department said it was temporarily suspending immigrant visa processing in those countries because applicants were “at a high risk for becoming a public charge.”

The sequence unfolded in several stages:

• In January, the State Department suspended immigrant visa processing in 75 countries under the public-charge rationale.
• A federal judge later ruled against that ban.
• The State Department then paused immigrant visa interviews globally while it developed new training.
• In a court filing, the U.S. government said interviews had been temporarily rescheduled through August 31.

The judge was not identified in the material describing the ruling. The White House official who issued the prioritization directive was also not identified.

The new training formed part of the department’s response after the court action. The global interview pause followed the ruling rather than ending immediately with it.

Two missions restart while other posts wait

The latest move creates a limited reopening for Poland and Hungary. It does not lift the temporary pause on immigrant visa appointments at other U.S. posts.

That structure leaves the department operating under two tracks: resumed processing at the selected European missions and continued suspension elsewhere. The directive came from the White House, while the State Department carried out the consular change.

The reopening therefore changes operations at two missions without restoring immigrant visa interviews worldwide. The January suspension, the federal court ruling, and the subsequent training effort remain the backdrop to the narrower restart.

The continuing pause also means the broader appointment system had not returned to its earlier status by September 8. Only the missions in Poland and Hungary received the stated priority under the new directive.