According to the US State Department, the training is designed to prepare consular officers for more comprehensive assessments of visa applicants. Officers are being trained to determine, among other factors, whether applicants are likely to rely on public assistance or government-funded benefits after arriving in the United States.
The State Department has not announced a specific date for when immigrant visa interviews will resume.
According to media reports, scheduled immigrant visa interviews at US embassies and consulates are being cancelled or postponed, with affected applicants expected to receive information about new dates and procedures.
The current disruption specifically concerns immigrant visas, which are issued to people seeking permanent residence in the United States. Tourist and other non-immigrant visas are not covered by this particular suspension.
The move comes as the Trump administration places greater emphasis on the “public charge” assessment in US immigration policy. Earlier this month, the State Department also launched a pilot programme involving Public Charge Bonds for certain immigrant visa applicants. Under the programme, consular officers may require eligible applicants to post a bond in specific circumstances.
The latest training programme is intended to make visa screening more consistent across different countries and ensure that officers apply the relevant criteria more thoroughly.
US immigration policy has already faced several restrictions and legal challenges under the Trump administration. Earlier State Department guidance had imposed visa-related restrictions on citizens of certain countries, although applicants from those countries could still submit applications and attend interviews.
A federal judge recently blocked another Trump administration policy that had suspended immigrant visa processing for citizens of 75 countries, ruling that the administration did not have the authority to impose the restrictions in that manner.
The latest worldwide suspension could affect applicants who are already in the process of seeking immigrant visas to permanently move to the United States.
The State Department has not yet provided a timeline for the completion of the training programme or the resumption of normal immigrant visa interviews. Applicants whose appointments have been affected will have to wait for further instructions from the relevant US embassy or consulate.
