Trump administration pauses all US visa applications worldwide

File: US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP.

The United States has paused immigrant visa applications as the Donald Trump administration moves to tighten screening and limit entry for applicants considered likely to depend on government assistance.

A US State Department official confirmed the development on Tuesday, saying the initiative was launched at American embassies and consulates in early August, per report by The Guardian UK.

The department said visa appointments had to be adjusted to accommodate “in-depth training” for consular officers as part of efforts to strengthen the assessment of applicants.

The State Department has been working on updated guidance and training since early this year, the official said, “to ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently”.

Applicants who had already secured interview appointments were reportedly informed by email that their appointments had been cancelled and that they would be notified of new dates.

The move is intended to ensure that immigrants do not become reliant on US public benefits, according to agency officials. It is also part of a broader immigration crackdown by the Trump administration targeting both lawful and undocumented immigration.

The latest development comes amid several other measures introduced by the administration to tighten access to the United States.

This week, the Trump administration announced plans to revoke visas from some asylum seekers who initially entered the US on tourist or business visas. Up to 200,000 people currently seeking asylum could be affected by the move, which would potentially become the largest mass visa revocation exercise in US history.

The action is being carried out in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.

Visa applicants have also faced additional requirements under Trump, including scrutiny of their social media histories and increased processing costs.

The immigrant visa pause follows an earlier attempt by the Trump administration to restrict applications on a similar “public charge” basis. That policy included a suspension of immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, but a federal judge recently overturned the measure.

Reacting to the ruling, Joanna Cuevas Ingram, senior staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, said: “The court made clear that immigration laws cannot be used to justify discrimination,”

She added: “We are determined to ensure every person and family this ban harmed receives appropriate relief and will continue to hold this administration accountable to its obligations under the law.”

The latest visa restrictions are expected to create further difficulties for applicants who have already spent significant amounts of money and made travel arrangements for interviews.

Brian Simmons, an attorney at immigration law firm Fragomen in Washington, told the Financial Times that many applicants affected by the pause likely “spent thousands of dollars and disrupted their lives to attend scheduled interviews, only to have their appointments cancelled at the last minute”.

It remains unclear when the cancelled appointments will be rescheduled, leaving many applicants facing further uncertainty over their immigration plans.

The development comes as the Trump administration continues to introduce stricter immigration policies, several of which have faced legal challenges in US courts.