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01 September 2026

US DOS pauses immigrant visa appointments worldwide following court rulings on nationality-based immigrant visa restrictions

On 26 August 2026, the Department of State (DOS) began implementing a worldwide pause on scheduling immigrant visa appointments. Consular officers who conduct immigrant visa interviews are undergoing training on how to determine if an applicant is likely to become a public charge, per recent policy changes. This follows two recent federal court decisions concerning a DOS policy that had suspended immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries based on public charge concerns. DOS has not provided a timeline for when normal immigrant visa appointment scheduling will resume.

A Tax Alert prepared by EY Law LLP group, and attached below, provides additional details.

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Attachment

Full text of Tax Alert

Document ID: 2026-1872

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