The State Department has said that the visa appointments have been canceled to “accommodate” a “global training initiative at all US embassies and consulates worldwide.”
The Trump administration has put a pause to all immigrant visa appointments for would-be immigrants to the United States across the world. President Donald Trump has been fighting hard to combat illegal immigration to the United States and that includes visa overstays.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced that those who overstayed tourist and business visas and then applied for asylum while in the US would have their visas canceled. Those in the US under temporary protected status visas have also seen their status expire and not be renewed under the State Department. They are now subject to deportation.
The State Department has said that the visa appointments have been canceled to "accommodate" a "global training initiative at all US embassies and consulates worldwide." Rubio has also sought to put a halt to visas from 75 specific countries but a judge on Friday said the authority for visa issuance rests entirely with consulate officials.
The extent and length of the training was not clear, but the State Department said that it is intended to "help consular officers screen out applicants deemed likely to become dependent on US public benefits," reports Reuters, and to make sure that consulates vet visa applicants "comprehensively and consistently."
Visa applicants have been told their appointments would be rescheduled. In May, visa services were suspended in Juba, South Sudan; Kinshasa, DRC; and Kampala, Uganda. In February, after President Trump encouraged better practices to ensure that immigrants to the United States did not end up on public benefits, the State Department launched a review of all screening and vetting processes at for "high-risk countries."
Immigrant visas were paused at that time for Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
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