Trump administration pauses immigrant visa appointments worldwide

The Trump administration paused immigrant visa appointments worldwide as the U.S. State Department said visa services were being adjusted for a global training initiative for consular officers, according to U.S. State Department statements cited by Reuters on Tuesday.

The department did not specify training details or a timeline, and said the initiative aims to help consular officers screen out applicants who fit the definition of becoming dependent on U.S. public benefits, while ensuring visa evaluations are "comprehensively and consistently".

U.S. State Department officials said the administration is also planning to revoke B1 and B2 visas tied to asylum-seeking conduct.

"Obtaining a visa in order to seek asylum na fraud – wey be grounds for visa revocation," said U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.

Pigott said the number of revocations remains dynamic and would be carried out on a rolling basis.

"Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio leadership, we dey make am clear say visa na privilege – no be right," Pigott said in a statement to BBC.

He said the department is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to identify and revoke non-immigrant visas of foreigners entering the United States as short-term visitors who later file for asylum to stay permanently.

U.S. media reports cited State Department documents indicating holders of B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 who seek asylum were among those at risk of revocation, according to Associated Press.

State Department data showed that most business and tourism visas for 2024 went to citizens of Brazil, which received more than 1.1 million B1 and B2 visas, followed by mainland China, India, and Pakistan. The same data said 32,300 visas were issued to visitors from Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2024.

Earlier in the month, the State Department said it had canceled more than 175,000 visas of foreign nationals for alleged reasons including violating visa terms, committing crimes, calling for violence against U.S. citizens, “mago-mago with Americans,” abusing the immigration system, or putting national security at risk, according to the same reporting.

On the legal side, Associated Press reporting said the visa revocations followed a U.S. judge striking down a Trump visa ban covering nationals from 75 countries, a policy introduced when Trump returned to office in January 2025 that a court said exceeded statutory authority granted to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security proposed applying a fee of 103,265 for H-1B visa applicants, according to DHS, though it said the rule is only a proposal.

DHS estimated the proposed fee would generate about 8.8 billion dollars per year, based on a projected 85,000 annual volume of H-1B cap-subject petitions, and it said the fee rationale is to recover costs spent to keep the immigration system legal.