The United States has restarted immigrant visa processing in Hungary and Poland, even as applicants in many other countries continue to face a temporary halt in visa interviews.
The change was introduced last week after the White House directed US diplomatic missions in the two European countries to give priority to immigrant visa cases, according to people familiar with the matter.
The reason for the special treatment of Hungary and Poland remains unclear. The move comes against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s close political ties with nationalist and conservative figures in both countries.
Trump has previously backed Hungary’s former prime minister Viktor Orban and supported Poland’s nationalist President Karol Nawrocki. Nawrocki’s presidency has also created tensions with the government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Neither the White House nor the State Department provided an explanation for why immigrant visa processing was restored in the two countries.
Wider visa disruption continues
The developments in Hungary and Poland stand apart from the situation at many other US diplomatic missions, where immigrant visa interviews remain disrupted.
The State Department began a worldwide pause in immigrant visa interviews after a federal judge struck down an earlier policy that had suspended immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries.
The original policy, introduced in January, was aimed at applicants considered by the administration to face a heightened risk of becoming dependent on public assistance after moving to the United States.
The policy affected countries across several regions, including parts of Latin America, the Balkans and South Asia.
After the court ruling, the State Department began implementing a new training programme for consular personnel. Officials said the programme was intended to ensure officers were properly prepared to assess whether applicants could support themselves financially in the United States.
The department had told a court that the disruption to interviews would initially extend only through the end of August. However, the new training process could keep some visa appointments suspended for considerably longer.
Training requirement slows the restart
The new system requires individual US missions to conduct training using material supplied from Washington. A consular officer must subsequently visit each post to verify that the required training has been completed.
That process could take months to complete across the worldwide network of US embassies and consulates, according to a person familiar with the arrangements.
Applicants in several countries have reported having appointments cancelled or moved into September, highlighting the continuing uncertainty surrounding the resumption of normal processing.
Immigrant visas are particularly important because they allow foreign nationals to move permanently to the United States. A large share of these visas goes to relatives of US citizens and lawful permanent residents.
The United States issued roughly 600,000 immigrant visas in 2024.
Legal migration also under pressure
The disruption is part of a broader immigration agenda under the Trump administration, which has targeted both unauthorized and legal migration.
Alongside measures aimed at illegal immigration, the administration has introduced restrictions affecting legal immigration, including travel limitations, higher fees for some visa categories and expanded scrutiny of applicants’ backgrounds and social media activity.
For now, Hungary and Poland have emerged as exceptions to the broader immigrant visa slowdown, while applicants elsewhere continue waiting for clarity on when regular interview scheduling will fully resume.
