- USCIS issued a new Policy Alert on August 18, 2026 regarding the ongoing 75-country immigrant visa pause.
- Applicants can still interview but cases are held in administrative processing under Section 221(g) without visa issuance.
- Courts have recently ruled against the blanket freeze, citing unlawful removal of individualized determinations by consular officers.
USCIS issued a new Policy Alert on August 18, 2026, and the 75-country pause stayed in place. The guidance points officers toward the September 18, 2026 transition tied to the public charge rule. The hold is still active.
Applicants from affected countries can still get as far as an interview. They may file I-130 and I-140 petitions, then appear before a consular officer. After that, many cases move into Administrative Processing under Section 221(g), and visas are not printed or issued. The file stops there.
A State Department cable set out the policy on January 14, 2026. Cable 3740 said:
"The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people."
The pause covers 75 nations across Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. Nigeria, Brazil, Colombia, Russia, Egypt, Pakistan and Afghanistan are among the countries named in the material. Thousands of spouses and children of U.S. citizens remain in Refused status. Workers from 69 of the 75 affected countries make up about 8% of the U.S. healthcare workforce. Medical exams and police certificates can expire while cases wait. The paperwork ages fast.
The policy is not universal. Tourist B1/B2, student F/J and work H-1B/L-1 visas are outside this specific pause. Dual nationals can qualify if they use a valid passport from a non-listed country. Adoption cases involving children being adopted by U.S. citizens may qualify for a National Interest Exception, or NIE. The pause is broad. It is not total.
The material also describes the order as one of the most expansive uses of executive authority, citing INA § 212(f) as the legal hook. It says public charge is being used here as a blanket regional justification, not a case-by-case financial review. That shift is unusual. Very unusual.
Courts have already pushed back
In De Moura Gomes v. Rubio on July 31, 2026, a D.C. federal judge ruled the blanket pause unlawful because it strips consular officers of their statutory duty to make individualized determinations. In Sayani v. Rubio on August 7, 2026, a California court granted a preliminary injunction that protects applicants from having medical exams expire because of government-imposed delays. The two cases travel different paths. Both narrow the policy.
The next date is September 18, 2026. That is when the DHS Final Rule on public charge takes effect, and the 2022 public charge rule is formally rescinded and replaced with a new standard. The calendar is fixed. The rule change is not.
