Court Blocks US Visa Suspension: 75-Country Immigrant Visa Freeze Lifted After 7 Months

The United States has officially ended the immigrant visa pause that had affected applicants from 75 countries for more than seven months. The State Department confirmed that the January 2026 freeze is no longer in effect, following a federal court order that compelled the resumption of normal immigrant visa processing for all affected nationals. The pause, which began in January 2026, had significantly disrupted immigrant visa interviews and approvals for tens of thousands of applicants worldwide. Its end, driven by judicial intervention rather than administrative reversal, signals an important legal boundary on executive authority over visa processing. For EB-3 applicants from the affected 75 countries, this development means that consular processing—including immigrant visa interviews at US embassies and consulates abroad—can resume without the previous administrative hold. Applicants who had been waiting for scheduled interviews or pending approvals may now see their cases move forward. One key clarification from the State Department: India was not part of this 75-country pause. Indian EB-3 applicants, who already face lengthy backlogs due to per-country caps, were subject to different processing dynamics and were unaffected by this specific freeze. Applicants from the previously affected countries should contact their local US embassy or consulate to confirm appointment availability and check for any updated documentation requirements as processing resumes.