(ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN) — Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said on June 15, 2026 that nearly half of U.S. visa applications from Kazakh citizens are refused mainly because applicants submit the wrong paperwork or incomplete files, while officials also reported progress in Schengen talks with the European Union.

Yerlan Zhetybayev, spokesperson for the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, put the U.S. visa refusals rate for Kazakhstan at 45–46% during a briefing in Astana and rejected suggestions that the refusals reflected a political decision aimed at Kazakh applicants.

“Nearly half of visa applications submitted by Kazakhstan citizens to the United States (US) are denied due primarily to documentation issues. There is a specific list of required documents that applicants must submit. If everything meets the requirements and there have been no violations on the applicant’s part, a visa can be issued,” Zhetybayev said.

The comments came as Kazakhstan tries to explain a sharp level of U.S. visa refusals to the public while dealing with a separate U.S. policy shift that has halted immigrant visa issuance for citizens of a broad group of countries, including Kazakhstan. That pause took effect on January 21, 2026.

The U.S. Department of State said it imposed the indefinite halt on immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries as part of a “full review of all screening and vetting policies to ensure that immigrants from high-risk countries do not unlawfully utilize welfare in the United States or become a public charge.”

That review affects immigrant visas, the category used by people moving permanently to the United States. Interviews may still go ahead, but Kazakhstanis are not currently receiving immigrant visas while the pause remains in place.

Non-immigrant cases sit in a different lane. Applicants seeking short-term visas for tourism or business are not covered by the public charge pause, but Kazakh officials said they still face tight scrutiny over every document submitted with an application.

Zhetybayev’s remarks addressed another claim circulating in Kazakhstan, that Russian citizens applying for U.S. visas through Kazakhstan receive better treatment. He said the ministry had seen no official evidence to support that.

“The Foreign Ministry has no information supporting such claims. the U.S. Embassy has not released statistics or statements indicating preferential treatment for Russian applicants,” Zhetybayev said.

His statement drew a line between rumor and record at a time when cross-border demand for visas has risen across the region and applicants often compare interview experiences in different countries. The ministry’s account points instead to technical errors, not nationality-based favoritism, as the central reason for refusals.

Kazakh officials urged applicants to match every submitted detail to the consular requirements. Travel itineraries, insurance documents and application forms must be fully accurate, they said, because small inconsistencies can trigger rejection in non-immigrant cases even when the applicant believes the trip itself is straightforward.

That warning carries practical weight in Kazakhstan, where U.S. visa refusals have become a public issue in online discussion groups and among travelers preparing for consular interviews. The ministry did not present a new political dispute with Washington; it framed the problem as one of compliance with document rules.

U.S. immigration policy has also shifted inside the benefits system, where a federal court order in Rhode Island cut across Department of Homeland Security restrictions tied to applicants from countries labeled high risk. On June 11, 2026, a U.S. District Court in Rhode Island in Dorcas International Institute v. USCIS vacated USCIS policy memos PM-602-0192 and PM-602-0194.

Those memos had frozen immigration benefit applications from “high-risk” countries, including Kazakhstan. The order affects cases involving immigration benefits such as green cards and work permits that had been stalled under the policy.

USCIS responded a day later. “USCIS strongly disagrees with the Court’s order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review. the vacatur applies to PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and PA 2025-26, which should be treated as if they are not in effect.”

The agency’s response, issued on June 12, 2026, means those directives are no longer to be applied while the court order stands. That does not end the immigrant visa pause announced in January, which came through the State Department and remains separate from the USCIS benefits memos.

The distinction matters for applicants trying to understand where their case stands. A Kazakh citizen waiting for an immigrant visa interview or issuance faces one set of restrictions; a person with a pending green card or work permit benefit application faces another. The June court action may move the second category, but it does not reopen immigrant visa issuance.

That split has added to confusion around Kazakhstan and U.S. visa refusals, because applicants often use the word “visa” to cover very different processes. Consular refusals for tourism or business cases turn heavily on documentation and interview records, according to the Kazakh ministry. Immigrant visa issuance, by contrast, is blocked for Kazakhstanis under the January review, even if an interview proceeds.

Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry used the same briefing to point to movement on Europe-bound travel. Officials said the third round of negotiations with the European Union on visa facilitation produced “substantial progress” in long-running Schengen talks.

The government said the talks are aimed at three practical changes: shorter processing times, more long-term multiple-entry visas and a simpler list of supporting documents. Those points go directly to problems that applicants have long described in Schengen applications, where repeat travel often still requires fresh paperwork and waiting periods.

The ministry did not announce a final agreement, but the description of “substantial progress” marked a more positive tone than the one surrounding U.S. visa refusals. In public terms, the two tracks now run in opposite directions: tighter U.S. screening and broader uncertainty for immigrant cases, against incremental movement with the EU on facilitation.

Kazakh travelers also face a changed border system in Europe. The EU’s Entry/Exit System, known as EES, has been active since October 12, 2025 and automatically records entry, exit and refusals for non-EU citizens, including travelers from Kazakhstan.

The system adds a digital record to each trip into the Schengen area. For travelers, that means border history now sits in a centralized registration environment rather than relying mainly on manual passport stamps, and refusals are logged automatically as part of the system.

That shift gives the Schengen talks added urgency for Kazakhstan. Easier document rules and more long-term, multiple-entry visas would reduce friction for travelers entering a system that now captures every crossing and refusal in real time.

The ministry’s message on both fronts turned on paperwork, whether in U.S. consular processing or EU facilitation talks. With the United States, officials stressed strict compliance with existing requirements. With the European Union, they are trying to reduce the number of documents that travelers must gather in the first place.

Applicants preparing for U.S. interviews face the immediate effect of that approach. Non-immigrant travelers for tourism and business are still eligible to apply, but officials said accuracy must be complete, from itinerary to insurance to every field in the application. Immigrant applicants can attend interviews, yet no immigrant visas are currently being issued to Kazakhstanis while the January 21, 2026 pause remains in force.

People with pending immigration benefit filings may now watch for case movement after the Rhode Island ruling. USCIS said it would comply with the court order even as it challenged the decision, leaving the vacated memos to be treated as though they are not in effect.

Kazakhstan has directed citizens to official channels for updates as policy conditions change. The U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan posts consular information at [kz.usembassy.gov](https://kz.usembassy.gov), the State Department maintains travel and visa information at [travel.state.gov](https://travel.state.gov), USCIS posts agency updates at [uscis.gov/newsroom](https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom), and Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry publishes statements at [gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa](https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa).