‘Panic’ as US immigrant visa interview pause hits at least 100 Hong Kong applicants

At least 100 Hong Kong-based applicants have been affected by the indefinite postponement of US immigrant visa interviews worldwide, immigration consultants say, with student and travel visa applications also disrupted.

The global pause, which marks a sharp tightening of legal immigration under the Trump administration, has left some Hong Kong applicants fearing the US could scrap the entire immigration pathway, rendering their efforts and expenses futile.

In an email seen by the South China Morning Post, the US consulate in Hong Kong told one applicant that her interview, scheduled for this week, “has been rescheduled”, adding that confirmation of the new date and time would follow.

The message did not explain the reason for the cancellation or provide a new interview date.

Willis Fu Yiu-wai, immigration consultant at Goldmax Associates, said about 10 of his Hong Kong clients were informed over the past two days that their immigration visa interviews had been postponed indefinitely, while others were still undergoing vetting before the interview stage, which was proceeding normally.

“They are really panicked, because they have paid the application fee and some have been through the process for two to three years, and the final step is the interview at the consulate,” Fu said.