Immigrant Visa Pause Update, October 25, 2026: A Chisinau Second Interview Ends in Refusal Over a Visitor-Insurance Quote, Abu Dhabi Issues, and a Pre-Pause Montreal Case Moves
Post by post
| Embassy | Status | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Chisinau | Refused | F2A refused at 20 Oct re-interview; only health cover shown was a visitor-insurance quote |
| Montreal | Called back | Pre-pause case (Nov 2024 interview) asked for a new medical; first such movement there |
| Frankfurt | Called back | K-1 with no first appointment approved on the portal; end-November slot, many open |
| London | Called back | More batch dates: a K-1 on 5 Nov, a 13 Oct K-1 on 10 Dec; one too soon for a medical |
| Rio de Janeiro | Covered | Relayed, unverified: two of 10+ EB-2 NIW re-interviews approved; panels of officers |
| Addis Ababa | No decision | March pause case untouched; a commenter says the post has started emailing some |
| Kuwait City | No decision | EB-3 nurse qualified Nov 2023, no letter; no new EB interviews seen anywhere |
Day 65. Weekends are thin, and this one was. But one report deserves a careful read by anyone preparing for a second interview, because it shows what a strong file can still lose on.
Chisinau: a strong file, a weak insurance answer
On 20 October Chisinau re-interviewed an F2A spouse whose first interview was on 12 March. The post phoned the day before. The petitioner, a green card holder, had three years of tax returns at about 48,000 dollars a year, roughly 150,000 dollars in savings and property abroad worth about 130,000 dollars held jointly with the applicant, who has a university degree and a professional licence. The case was refused again, and every question about why got an apology.
The one gap commenters found was health coverage. The only evidence offered was a quote from a short-term visitor-insurance site for the first months in the US. Visitor policies usually exclude pre-existing conditions and end after a fixed period, so they do not answer the question officers keep asking: how will this person be covered once they live here? The Bogota approvals of the past week showed the other side of it: proof of the petitioner's employer coverage and a quote for a real plan. An employer's letter saying the spouse can be added, or a Marketplace estimate with premiums and deductibles, answers the same question. It is not yet clear whether Chisinau issued a new 221(g) or a public charge refusal; if it is a 221(g), the applicant can still send stronger evidence. Our re-interview guide lists what has worked. Chisinau is now on the pause status table, the 71st post.
One practical tip from the same weekend: parents applying for IR5 cannot get through state Marketplace sign-up without Social Security numbers. People suggested an independent insurance broker, or calling the state Marketplace, which can quote without a number.
Abu Dhabi issues; Montreal reaches back
An applicant first interviewed in Abu Dhabi on 20 January, one day before the pause, had a second interview on 30 September and now has the visa. At Montreal, a case from much earlier moved: interviewed in November 2024 and held in a 221(g), then given a pause 221(g) by email in May once background checks finished, it has been asked for a new medical. It is one of very few cases from before the pause reported as picked up; Belgrade gave an October 2025 case a date last week.
It matters because the thread it came from was full of people who feel forgotten: interviewed in July, October or December 2025, some told they were approved pending documents, then caught by the pause and passed over while posts work through 2026 interviews. Commenters read the 43,000 figure in the court filings as covering cases refused during the pause, which may not include cases that were already in administrative processing. Nobody has an answer yet.
Dates, and where they are not coming
London's batch keeps surfacing: a K-1 has 5 November, a K-1 cancelled for 13 October has 10 December, and one applicant whose new date is ten days away says that is too soon for the medical and will ask to move it. At Frankfurt, a K-1 that never had a first appointment saw its pre-approval request approved on the portal without a support ticket and booked an end-of-November date; many slots were open. The full list is on the cancellations tracker.
Employment-based cases are the exception. Applicants across the forums say they have not seen a single new employment-based interview letter since the suspension, only reschedules and second interviews. An EB-3 nurse at Kuwait City, documentarily qualified in November 2023, is still waiting. And at Rio de Janeiro, a relayed and unverified report says only two of more than ten EB-2 national-interest-waiver re-interviews ended in approval, with several officers questioning one applicant and re-examining the approved petition.
What to do this week
If you have a second interview coming, replace any visitor-insurance quote with a quote for a comprehensive plan, or a letter from the petitioner's employer confirming the spouse or parent can be enrolled and when. If you were interviewed before the pause and are still waiting, say so plainly in each inquiry, with your original interview date. If London gave you a date too soon for the medical, write to the post now, not the week before.