The United States has suspended immigrant visa appointments worldwide. People who had interviews booked at American embassies and consulates were emailed to say their slots had been moved and that they would be told about new dates later. Neither account we hold contains a date for that.
The State Department's explanation is training. A spokesperson said on Tuesday that the department had begun a global training programme across every embassy and consulate, and that visa appointments would be adjusted to make room for it. The department gave no detail about the training or its schedule. What it did say is what the training is for: helping consular officers turn away applicants judged likely to depend on American public benefits, and making sure applications are assessed comprehensively and consistently. Both accounts credit the Financial Times with reporting the suspension first.
For Brazilian readers the timing is the point. Four days earlier, on Friday the 21st, a federal judge in New York struck down a related policy — the suspension, in force since 21 January, of immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries, Brazil among them. Judge Jeannette Vargas held that it contradicted the law and exceeded the secretary of state's authority, and that consular officers had been instructed to refuse immigrant visas on the basis of the applicant's country alone, even where every other requirement was met. Her ruling cancels any denial that rested on that policy. It can be appealed.
Folha also reports a separate line of work: the department has begun reviewing the visas of foreigners who entered on tourist or business terms and then applied for asylum to extend their stay, with cancellations expected in stages and up to 200,000 visa holders and asylum seekers potentially affected. "A visa is a privilege — not a right," a department spokesman said.
What is not established is the reach of Tuesday's suspension. Folha writes that it is unclear whether it also covers tourist visa applicants, and that the American embassy in Brasília had not answered its email.
Why it is on the board
Second on Folha's most-read list when we collected. A one-lens entry: the Brazilian video lens returned nothing this round, and the collector recorded three channels as blocked, so that zero is not silence.
확인: Folha de S.Paulo · Business Standard