Immigrant Visa Pause Update, November 12, 2026: Addis Ababa Re-Interviews Turn on the Public Charge Questionnaire, Managua Holds a Case It Said It Would Approve
Post by post
| Embassy | Status | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Addis Ababa | Called back | EB-2 NIW re-interviewed in early Nov on the public charge questionnaire; medicals after |
| Managua | No decision | IR1 re-interviewed 16 Oct, told the officer intends to approve; no decision 4 weeks on |
| Islamabad | No decision | Re-interview emails in small batches; 2-3 Feb first interviews at the front for 3 weeks |
| Naples | No decision | IR1 told approved 28 Oct, asked to re-upload CEAC documents; still Ready 2 weeks on |
| Ciudad Juarez | Cancelled | IR1 cancelled for 1 Oct; medical with TB results expires in December |
| London | No decision | K-1 turned away over late medical results told to book a new date itself |
| Mumbai | No decision | No reschedules: 24 Sept IR1 and an April-DQ CR1 still have no dates |
| Accra | Cancelled | Spouse interview cancelled 1 Sept; no contact about a new date |
Day 83. Today's clearest first-hand report is from Addis Ababa, where a re-interview was built almost entirely around the public charge questionnaire. Elsewhere, more cases are sitting after a second interview than are being refused.
Addis Ababa: what the re-interview asked
An EB-2 NIW applicant first interviewed in January, found eligible and then held under 221(g) for the pause, wrote to the consular section in September and October. CEAC updated three times in October, and in late October a re-interview letter arrived for the first week of November. It gave no instructions beyond asking every beneficiary to attend. The officer then worked through the public charge questionnaire: age, health insurance, employability and the job offer, bank statements, assets, medications, any past use of public benefits, relocation plans, relatives in the United States and their jobs, and how the petition qualified. The family had redone medicals on their own before the appointment, but the post now gives medical instructions only after the re-interview, and an IR1 applicant says clinics have been told not to do medicals before it. The same IR1 relays that February first interviews are now being re-interviewed and that some are getting visas; we have not seen a first-hand February issuance yet. The question list is now in the public charge re-interview guide.
Waiting after a second interview
At Managua, an IR1 first interviewed on 28 January was re-interviewed on 16 October, placed in administrative processing with the passport kept, and told the officer intended to approve. Four weeks later there is no decision, and the applicant knows of no visa issued at the post since re-interviews began. At Naples, a spouse told at the window on 28 October that the visa was approved was asked to upload again documents the officer could not see in CEAC; two weeks later the case still shows Ready, and another applicant in the same position was told on 12 November that the case is in officer review. Outside the pause, an O-1 applicant at Karachi held for two weeks so the officer could review the approved petition was then refused under 214(b).
Slow or stopped
Islamabad sends re-interview emails in small batches, one week on and one week off, and applicants say first interviews of 2 and 3 February have been at the front of the queue for about three weeks. At Mumbai, an IR1 cancelled for 24 September was told by phone on 11 November that there is no update, and a CR1 documentarily qualified on 3 April has no date. At Ciudad Juarez, an IR1 cancelled for 1 October has a medical, with TB results that took nine weeks, expiring in December; applicants say validity runs from the negative TB result. At Accra, a spouse interview cancelled on 1 September has had no contact since. A London K-1 turned away on 9 November because the medical results had not arrived was emailed to book a new interview itself.
Status by embassy: immigrant visa pause status. Cancelled and rebooked interviews: cancellation tracker.