World Relief Expresses Deep Concern for Pause in Visa Appointments for All Countries

Indefinite pause risks unnecessarily prolonging family separations

Contact: Lauren Rasmussen, media@wr.org, 802.310.4255

BALTIMORE, Md. – This week, the Trump administration paused appointments for immigrant visa applications for all countries, citing a new training for all officers reviewing applications, with no announced timeline for when appointments would resume. World Relief urges the administration to immediately reinstate visa appointments and interviews, preventing unnecessary family separation.

“This is yet again an attempt to restrict legal forms of immigration through the creation of obstructive administrative action and the interruption of long-standing processes,” commented Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. “As a result of this policy many U.S. citizens will be separated from their spouses or parents, disrupting family dynamics. Before taking such sweeping administrative action, we urge the administration to consider the impact of this policy on children and their families.”

This change comes on the heels of a determination by a U.S. judge at the end of last week that the ban on visa applications from 75 countries was an overreach of authority.”

“Disruptions to the visa process over the last year have had a compounding impact on U.S. citizens as they wait to be reunited with their families,” commented Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief. “We estimated in a recent report that the ban on visa applications from 75 countries would keep over 150,000 spouses and children apart from their U.S. citizen spouse or parent if implemented until 2029. An indefinite pause on all additional pending applications from any other country would multiply that number.”

To learn more about World Relief, visit worldrelief.org.