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‘Panicked’: pause to US visa interviews affects more than 100 Hong Kong applicants

Sudden global restrictions by Trump have some applicants in city fearing US may scrap immigration pathway

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US President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, the US State Department said that “appointments for visa services” had been adjusted as officers underwent training at embassies and consulates worldwide. Photo: AP
Matthew Cheng

More than 100 Hong Kong-based applicants have been affected by the indefinite postponement of US immigrant visa interviews worldwide, consultants have said, with student and travel applications also disrupted.

The global pause, which marks a sharp tightening of legal immigration under the Trump administration, has left some Hong Kong applicants fearing the United States could scrap the entire pathway, rendering their efforts futile and their money wasted.

In an email seen by the South China Morning Post, the US consulate in Hong Kong told one applicant that her interview, set for this week, “has been rescheduled”, adding that confirmation of the new date and time would follow.

The message did not explain the reason for the cancellation or provide a new interview date.

Willis Fu Yiu-wai, a senior immigration consultant at Goldmax Associates, said about 10 of his Hong Kong clients were informed over the past two days that their immigrant visa interviews had been postponed indefinitely, while others were still undergoing vetting before the interview stage, which was proceeding normally.

“They are really panicked, because they have paid the application fee and some have been through the process for two to three years, and the final step is the interview at the consulate,” he said.

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