Immigrant Visa Pause Update, October 26, 2026: A London Rescheduled Interview Ends in Approval While Mumbai, Manila and Islamabad Still Have No New Dates
Post by post
| Embassy | Status | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| London | Approved | F2A cancelled for 9 Sept, rescheduled to 23 Oct and approved at that interview |
| Mumbai | No decision | Spouse and F4 interviews cancelled Aug-Sept: no new dates, only a form email on training |
| Manila | No decision | No rebooking of 27 Aug IR1 or 11 Sept EB cancellations; medicals expire from January |
| Islamabad | No decision | September first interviews not rebooked; post seeing only earlier pause 221(g) cases |
| Sydney | No decision | July marriage case held for a sponsor tax return: nothing since the upload |
| Amman | No decision | Spousal case interviewed April 2026 and held under the pause, still waiting |
| Cairo | No decision | K-1 applicants cancelled under the suspension report no new dates yet |
| Beirut | No decision | A case in administrative processing since September 2025 is still waiting |
Day 66. The weekend brought one result worth noting and a lot of waiting.
London's rebooked interviews are ending in visas
An F2A spouse case with a November 2023 priority date was due to interview in London on 9 September. That appointment was cancelled when the worldwide interview suspension began. The post rebooked it for 23 October, and the visa was approved that day. It joins a K-1 that London moved from 1 September to 6 October and approved. London has also been sending new dates in batches since 23 October, mostly between early November and mid-December. If London gave you a date, prepare for it as a full interview with current financial and health-coverage evidence. The cancellations tracker lists the new dates people have reported.
Mumbai, Manila and Islamabad: no new dates yet
The contrast with other posts is sharp. In Mumbai, spouse and F4 applicants whose interviews were cancelled in August and September have heard nothing. Inquiry emails get a form reply: a global training initiative launched in early August, immigrant visa appointments are being adjusted, and applicants will be contacted as capacity allows. One applicant who has been documentarily qualified for almost a year has no date.
Manila has not rebooked anything reported here. That includes an IR1 cancelled on 27 August, three days before the interview, and an employment-based case cancelled on 11 September. An F4 applicant interviewed on 30 July sent documents that the post confirmed receiving on 24 September. CEAC has shown only a 21 October update since then. Several of these families have medicals that expire between January and February. At Islamabad, applicants say first interviews cancelled in September are not being rebooked, because the post is working through earlier pause cases first. Each post's latest news is on the pause status table.
"Submit a health care plan": what it means
A second interview over the weekend ended the same way many have: the officer asked for a health care plan. Replies covered familiar ground. Applicants do not need to buy a policy before they have a visa; a quote is enough. The best evidence is a letter saying the spouse can be added to the petitioner's employer plan. Without that, a quote for a comprehensive plan should come with a short explanation of how premiums will be paid. Last week's Chisinau refusal showed that a short-term visitor-insurance quote is weak evidence. The re-interview guide collects the documents that have worked.
Long waits outside the pause
The pause is not the only hold. A dual national applied for a visitor visa at Frankfurt in May 2023 and has been in administrative processing for more than three years. A Canadian permanent resident has had an H-1B case open at Calgary since 2023 and a B-1/B-2 case since May 2025. Replies warned that any new application will wait behind the first two. In Sydney, a marriage case interviewed in July is still held over a sponsor tax return that was uploaded right away.
What to do this week
If you have a London date, book the medical now. If you are waiting in Mumbai, Manila or Islamabad, keep your medical and police certificates current, and note your original interview date in every inquiry. If an officer asks for a health care plan, send an employer enrolment letter or a comprehensive quote with a payment plan, not a visitor policy.