Immigrant Visa Pause Update, October 27, 2026: Islamabad Asks Only for Insurance Quotes, Bogota Approves Another Spouse, and the Diversity Visa Report Shows 94 Refusals Reversed
Post by post
| Embassy | Status | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Islamabad | Called back | F4 re-interview 27 Oct: 221(g) for insurance quotes only, rest of the case called positive |
| Bogota | Approved | IR1 refused under the pause in June approved at its 21 Oct second interview |
| London | Called back | A rebooked K-1 got a date only 7 days out; no later slots on the scheduling site |
| Riyadh | Covered | Relayed, unverified: US staff drawdown reported; IR1 filed in March has no date |
| Frankfurt | No decision | EB cases qualified in April 2026 have heard nothing; Jan-Feb qualifiers interviewed |
| Manila | No decision | EB-3 other-workers case qualified June 2023 still has no interview letter |
| Sydney | No decision | K-1 medical sent 16 Oct; no instructions yet to submit documents |
Day 67. The clearest signal today came from Islamabad, and it points to the same document as yesterday.
Islamabad: one request, and it is insurance
An F4 family had their second interview at Islamabad on 27 October and left with a white 221(g) slip asking for one thing: health insurance quotes, sent electronically. The officer said everything else in the case looked positive and that passports would be requested if the quotes were satisfactory. Islamabad has been closing re-interviews this way since last week, with requests for the cost of a health plan and how premiums will be paid. Another Islamabad IR1 has shown Issued for a week and is waiting for the passport. Up to two weeks is normal.
If you are on Islamabad's list, have quotes ready before the interview. A quote for a comprehensive plan, a letter showing the petitioner's employer plan can add the family member, and a line on who pays the premiums cover what officers there are asking. Applicants say the post is working strictly in order of original interview date. The re-interview guide lists the documents that have worked.
Bogota approves another spouse
An IR1 interviewed at Bogota in June and refused under the pause was approved at a second interview on 21 October. The medical expires on 29 November, so he has to enter before then. Commenters pointed out that entry on an immigrant visa makes him a permanent resident at once. He can then leave to care for a sick parent and return within six months, without waiting for the card.
The diversity visa report: refusals are not final
In the separate diversity visa class case, the government's 26 October status report lists 242 approvals since 23 October. Ninety-four were cases earlier reported as refused. It also lists 44 refusals, two of them reversals of approvals, and 18 interviews conducted. The court's ten-day processing window ran from 14 to 23 October. These numbers are not about the 75-country pause, but they show refusals being reopened and approved in large numbers. In a different diversity visa suit brought by individual plaintiffs, the government filed a notice of appeal on 26 October. An appeal does not pause the lower court's order.
Short notice in London, silence elsewhere
London rebooked a cancelled K-1 for a date only seven days away, and the scheduling site shows no later slots. Replies suggested emailing the post, or asking the panel clinic for an early medical. In Riyadh, an applicant passed on news reports, which we have not confirmed, that non-emergency US staff were told to leave Saudi Arabia. An IR1 with documents submitted in March has no date. Employment-based cases qualified in April 2026 have heard nothing from Frankfurt, and Manila still has EB-3 cases waiting from 2023. Latest by post is on the pause status table and the cancellations tracker.
What to do this week
Islamabad applicants: get your insurance quotes now. London applicants with short-notice dates: email the post the day the date arrives. And anyone whose case was refused should keep the file current, because the diversity visa numbers show that a refusal can still turn into an approval.