Q COSTA RICA — The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it was temporarily suspending all immigration visa appointments to conduct further training for embassy and consulate staff. The suspension does not apply to visas issued for tourism, study, business travel, or temporary work.
Existing appointments for immigration visas, which typically involve an interview with a consular officer, will be rescheduled to accommodate the training, a State Department spokesperson told AFP.
“Whenever there are changes to visa interview appointments, embassies and consulates communicate any modifications directly to visa applicants,” the spokesperson said.
Tourist and business visa appointments are completely unaffected. If you have an interview scheduled for a B1/B2 tourist visa, student visa, or work visa in San José, your appointment remains valid, and you should attend.
The U.S. Embassy in San José, Costa Rica, confirmed that only applicants with immigrant (Permanent Residency) visa interviews are affected.
This is important because the news reaching Costa Rica this week made things seem much worse than they really are.
No specific date was provided for when immigrant visa (green card) appointments of individuals seeking to obtain visas that would allow them to live permanently in the United States.
Officials cite a combination of operational challenges and shifting priorities as reasons behind the suspension. While the department has not provided a specific timeline for when appointments will resume, it emphasizes that the measure is temporary and necessary to manage resources amid ongoing global demands.
The suspension of appointments is the latest move by the Trump administration to curb the arrival of foreigners. But some of Trump’s measures have been blocked by the U.S. courts. Last Friday, for example, a federal judge in New York struck down the government’s policy that suspended immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries. In Latin America, the countries impacted include Brazil and Colombia.