Within hours of the new travel proclamation taking effect, the U.S. Department of State updated its visa-services website and cabled consulates worldwide to **stop issuing visas** to most nationals of 38 affected countries plus Palestinian Authority document-holders. The cable directs posts to cancel interview slots for applicants who are now ineligible and to re-route emergency humanitarian cases for Washington review.
Under the directive, consular officers must refuse visas under INA 212(f) unless an applicant clearly qualifies for one of the narrow exceptions: diplomatic (A/G/NATO), persecuted religious minority immigrants from Iran, or individuals whose travel is deemed in the U.S. national interest. Even applicants who paid MRV fees will not receive refunds; instead, receipts will stay valid for 365 days should the ban be lifted.
If your organization suddenly needs to reroute an employee’s visa application or clarify whether a specific passport still qualifies for visa issuance, VisaHQ’s compliance team can walk you through the latest State Department directives and help book appointments in unaffected jurisdictions. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/) tracks changes in real time, offers document checklists, and provides concierge support so HR managers can keep projects moving even when consular rules shift overnight.
![State Department Halts Visa Issuance for 19 ‘Full-Ban’ and 19 ‘Partial-Ban’ Countries]()
For employers the impact is concrete: PERM-based immigrant-visa interviews for critical hires from Nigeria, Sudan or Haiti are now off the calendar, and B-1 visa renewals for regional sales managers from Venezuela are frozen. Immigration teams are advised to (1) switch filings to third-country consulates where dual citizenship is available, (2) accelerate remote-onboarding protocols, and (3) expect a backlog surge once (or if) the suspensions are rescinded.
The State Department guidance also tells consulates to annotate visa refusals with “212(f) Proclamation 10998,” a move that will complicate future visa attempts even after the ban ends because a 212(f) refusal can trigger additional administrative processing. Employers should prepare briefing sheets for mobility staff so that affected employees understand the long-term record implications.
Litigation risk remains high. Universities in the Ninth Circuit are preparing amicus briefs arguing that the partial ban on F-1 and J-1 visas violates statutory provisions that require case-by-case security findings rather than blanket nationality bans. However, until courts act, visa windows for nearly forty nationalities are effectively closed.
Under the directive, consular officers must refuse visas under INA 212(f) unless an applicant clearly qualifies for one of the narrow exceptions: diplomatic (A/G/NATO), persecuted religious minority immigrants from Iran, or individuals whose travel is deemed in the U.S. national interest. Even applicants who paid MRV fees will not receive refunds; instead, receipts will stay valid for 365 days should the ban be lifted.
If your organization suddenly needs to reroute an employee’s visa application or clarify whether a specific passport still qualifies for visa issuance, VisaHQ’s compliance team can walk you through the latest State Department directives and help book appointments in unaffected jurisdictions. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/) tracks changes in real time, offers document checklists, and provides concierge support so HR managers can keep projects moving even when consular rules shift overnight.
For employers the impact is concrete: PERM-based immigrant-visa interviews for critical hires from Nigeria, Sudan or Haiti are now off the calendar, and B-1 visa renewals for regional sales managers from Venezuela are frozen. Immigration teams are advised to (1) switch filings to third-country consulates where dual citizenship is available, (2) accelerate remote-onboarding protocols, and (3) expect a backlog surge once (or if) the suspensions are rescinded.
The State Department guidance also tells consulates to annotate visa refusals with “212(f) Proclamation 10998,” a move that will complicate future visa attempts even after the ban ends because a 212(f) refusal can trigger additional administrative processing. Employers should prepare briefing sheets for mobility staff so that affected employees understand the long-term record implications.
Litigation risk remains high. Universities in the Ninth Circuit are preparing amicus briefs arguing that the partial ban on F-1 and J-1 visas violates statutory provisions that require case-by-case security findings rather than blanket nationality bans. However, until courts act, visa windows for nearly forty nationalities are effectively closed.
