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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.
“They are worried that they might not be able to migrate to the US, as there are rumours that the immigration programme is terminated.”
Fu added that some clients applying for non-immigrant visas, including business, student and travel visas, had also had their interviews postponed.
Fu said he had never seen such an arrangement in his more than 10 years in the industry, describing it as “extremely rare”, but he expected the disruption to last one to two months.

He argued that the latest policy was aimed at curbing illegal migrants and asylum seekers, and that the US had not suspended immigration pathways entirely.
The senior consultant noted that some new non-immigrant visa applications submitted last week had interviews scheduled for October, a significantly longer wait than usual.
Such applicants are generally required to attend an in-person interview with a consular officer, with limited exceptions for certain renewals.
Peggy Lau Pik-ki, head of business development at Uni Immigration Consultancy, said more than 100 clients applying for investment immigration had been affected, including some mainland Chinese based in the city.
She said the applicants received only short notice, with one client scheduled for an interview on Thursday being informed of the postponement only the day before.
While the move was uncommon, Lau pointed to the US tightening of student visa requirements last year, saying it was “not very surprising”.
She noted that the US had not terminated the processing and scrutiny of immigrant visas and remained open to new applications.
Echoing Fu, Lau said she believed the suspension would be temporary and expected it to last at most a few months.
She added that its impact on applicants and people’s intention to move to the US would be minimal, as the approval process for such visas typically took years.
“I believe a group of people are still longing to move to the US … they believe the US is a place that they wish to live in,” Lau said. “[This] is a hurdle, but it is part of the process, so you just have to suck it up.”

Andy*, who has applied for a US employment immigration visa, said he was originally expected to have an interview at the consulate next month under the previous timetable.
Despite not receiving any formal notice so far, he believed the appointment would be postponed.
“It is the final push, but it is like getting stood up,” he said. “The immigration policy in the US has changed frequently over the past two to three years. It’s elusive.
While Andy said he was not too anxious since he expected any delay would only last a few months, a pause in the process would inevitably disrupt his plans.
Such hurdles could force him to request a delay in onboarding for his job in the US, while his children’s school enrolment would also be affected as he had originally planned to arrive by January, so they could start when the new term began, he said.
“Now my arrival time may be postponed to April or May,” Andy said. “The timing is awkward as it will fall in the middle of the school term.”
He said he had applied for the immigration visa in 2022 and had hoped to provide his children with a better environment for development and education, adding that some of his family already lived in the US.
“We have already made the decision to move to the US, and we will stick to the plan,” he said, stressing that he was not worried about a growing hostility towards migrants.
He also urged the US government to quickly announce the next stage of the policy so applicants could have more certainty.
On Wednesday, the US State Department said that “appointments for visa services” had been adjusted as officers underwent training at embassies and consulates worldwide, citing the need to protect Americans “by upholding the highest standards of screening and vetting of visa applicants”.
*Name changed at interviewee’s request


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


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


US immigration

Donald Trump

US-China relations

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

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Sudden global restrictions by Trump have some applicants in city fearing US may scrap immigration pathway

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