The United States has stopped processing all immigrant visas for now. According to the Trump administration, this pause is to give consular officers time to learn how to handle the applications.
This pause only affects immigrant (permanent residence) visa interviews. People applying for non-immigrant visas, such as F, J, or H-1B, are not affected.
Earlier this week, St. Lucia Times reported that a federal judge ruled on Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio went beyond his legal authority when he stopped processing immigrant visas for people from 75 countries. The Trump administration believed these individuals were likely to seek public assistance after arriving.
Saint Lucia and several other Caribbean nations were included on that list.
The Trump administration has not said whether it will challenge the judge’s ruling. Some analysts think the pause in processing applications is a way for the administration to buy time while deciding what to do next.
The State Department expects the pause to last until mid-September, but did not give a specific date when asked by The Associated Press.
People whose interviews were cancelled or postponed, most of whom had appointments this month, will have their interviews in September, October, or November, according to the agency.
