Immigrant Visa Pause Update, November 9, 2026: A London K-1 Is Turned Away Because Her Medical Results Had Not Arrived, and Dhaka Is Reported to Want New Medicals

Day 80. Few new cases over the weekend, but two of them carry the same lesson as last week's: at reopened posts the medical, not the interview, is now what most often holds a case up.

London: turned away because the medical had not arrived

A K-1 applicant at London had her original medical and document review cancelled by the August pause. The rebooked interview came with only 11 days' notice, so the medical was done the day after the document review. On 9 November she reached the window and was turned away straight away: the panel physician's results had not yet reached the embassy. The post kept her sealed document packet but not her passport, and a new date will come by email. That means another trip to London. If your notice is short, ask the panel physician how long results take to reach the post, and email the embassy before the interview if they will not make it in time. The full medical advice is in the public charge re-interview guide.

Dhaka: new medicals for the February cohort

An F2A applicant interviewed at Dhaka in June relays that the post is contacting people first interviewed in early February and asking them to redo their medicals before a second interview. This is unverified, but it fits last week's reports of new medicals at Kingston and Casablanca. The June applicant has had no call yet and is weighing whether to upload the petitioner's insurance card unprompted. More on the post: Dhaka pause status.

The amended lawsuit, in plain terms

The 143-page amended complaint filed on 6 November in the main pause case now goes beyond the original 75-country pause. It challenges State Department instructions from 10 September that require a new public-charge worksheet and more screening, which plaintiffs say has meant more financial and insurance documents, repeat interviews for people already held under 221(g), more administrative processing and new public-charge refusals. It also challenges a central review process, introduced from 14 September, that plaintiffs say lets officials override approvals made at the window. Nothing changes for applicants until the court acts, and an appeal on the earlier ruling is still pending.

Visitor and student visas

A B2 applicant told "approved" at the interview got an email three days later saying the case was refused under 221(g) and asking for the supplemental DS-5535 questionnaire. That form usually means a security review in Washington, typically weeks and sometimes much longer. A researcher in Germany waited over a year in administrative processing for a conference visa, was finally called back, and was refused because the conference had already happened. Students admitted for January report no routine F-1 slots at Baghdad. Islamabad is offering regular visitor appointments for April 2027.

Status by embassy: immigrant visa pause status. Cancelled interviews and rebookings: cancellation tracker.