The U.S. State Department has temporarily paused immigrant visa appointments at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, citing a new global training initiative for consular officers focused on evaluating whether visa applicants could become dependent on U.S. public benefits.

The department has not announced when the appointments will resume.

The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to tighten immigration and visa policies. According to the State Department, the training is intended to ensure that consular officers can evaluate applicants consistently under U.S. “public charge” rules.

It is important to note that the announcement does not mean that all U.S. visa applications have been suspended worldwide. The current global pause specifically concerns immigrant visa appointments. Nonimmigrant visas—including tourist and business visas—are not covered by this particular worldwide pause.

Separately, the administration is preparing to revoke potentially up to 200,000 B1/B2 business and tourist visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to foreign nationals who subsequently applied for asylum in the United States. The reported measure would represent the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history, although the exact number of affected visas has not been confirmed by the State Department.

What does this mean for Anash?

For the many families and hundreds of Temimim who are preparing to travel to Crown Heights for the month of Tishrei, the latest announcement is not, by itself, a halt to tourist visa processing. Those applying for B1/B2 visitor visas should nevertheless continue to monitor the status of their local U.S. embassy or consulate and allow additional time for processing amid the administration’s broader tightening of visa procedures.

The State Department has also implemented other changes to visa processing this year, including expanded screening and vetting and new rules governing where certain applicants must interview.

With thousands of Anash and Temimim expected to make their way to 770 for Tishrei, those who still need to obtain a visa are urged to follow official State Department and embassy updates closely and not rely on reports describing the latest move as a blanket suspension of all U.S. visas.