Lawyers Say State Department Is Slow-Walking Nearly 300,000 Visas From 75 Countries After a Court Struck Down the Pause, NPR Reports

Immigration attorneys say the U.S. State Department is intentionally slow-walking the processing of nearly 300,000 immigrant visas for people from 75 countries, in defiance of a federal court order that struck down the administration's blanket pause on issuing those visas two months ago, NPR reported on Saturday, October 24. The applicants are largely spouses, children and other family members of U.S. citizens, the attorneys told NPR. The State Department declined to comment on the slow-walking charge, citing pending litigation. The slow-walking claim is an allegation by the attorneys NPR spoke with, not a court finding.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk24 October 20264 min readRead in all 3 languages

WASHINGTON — Immigration attorneys say the U.S. State Department is not following a federal judge's directives and is intentionally slow-walking the processing of nearly 300,000 immigrant visas for people from 75 previously banned countries, NPR reported on Saturday, October 24, in its weekly immigration briefing. NPR reporter Vanessa Romo said her colleague Sergio Martínez-Beltrán spoke with immigration attorneys and people affected by the policy, who said the delays have in effect left the applicants — largely spouses, children and other family members of U.S. citizens — trapped in their home countries. The slow-walking claim is the attorneys' allegation, reported by NPR; it is not a court finding.

Source: NPR via WKYU, Oct. 24, 2026

The background is the administration's January 2026 pause on immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries, justified by concerns that applicants would become a public charge. The State Department's own notice, last updated August 28, says that as of August 21, in accordance with the court's order in CLINIC et al. v. Rubio et al., the January 2026 pause of immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries is no longer in effect, according to a summary of State Department data and notices. Two months ago, a federal judge struck down the blanket pause, NPR reported.

Source: The Digital Free Press (State Department data/notices), Oct. 2026

State Department figures summarized in that reporting show how sharply issuance had already fallen under the restrictions: immigrant visas for people from Cuba fell from 2,287 in February 2024 to 64 in February 2026, Pakistan from 1,981 to 63, Nigeria from 1,023 to 59, Ethiopia from 685 to 7 and Ghana from 782 to 3, according to the tables cited. Visas in the main employment-based classes held roughly steady over the same comparison.

Source: The Digital Free Press (State Department data), Oct. 2026

NPR said it reached out to the State Department, which, citing pending litigation, declined to comment on the charge that it is foot-dragging on reviewing these visas. The agency did pause visa processing worldwide to conduct a training program for consular officials, and in an email statement to NPR it said the goal of the training is to identify immigrants who could become a burden on taxpayers — a so-called public charge.

Source: NPR via WKYU, Oct. 24, 2026

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