U.S. visa processing and appointments have been canceled across the Middle East and South Asia until further notice. This is mainly due to American embassies and consulates in the region suspending operations due to the ongoing conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. Halting visa processing services will trigger massive backlogs, some which may last indefinitely.
Background
Since the conflict began, U.S. posts in nine countries across the Middle East and South Asia suspended visa processing services. Each of these countries had hundreds of visa requests on the docket for processing. The exact numbers among the affected countries are as follows:
- Pakistan.
- With 6,318 pending cases.
- Jordan.
- With 1,848 pending cases.
- Lebanon.
- With 1,611 pending cases.
- Iraq.
- With 865 pending cases.
- Kuwait.
- With 862 pending cases.
- Saudi Arabia.
- With 5,942 pending cases.
- Qatar.
- With 243 pending cases.
- The United Arab Emirates.
- With 1,022 pending cases.
- Bahrain.
- With 286 pending cases.
Updates
According to Newsweek, the cumulative backlog could easily balloon past one hundred and fifty thousand cases if visa processing suspension in cities like Karachi or Baghdad persist. However, these numbers are just rough estimates due to there being no official data on the number of affected applicants. Currently, there’s no announced reopening date for any of the impacted locations. Presently, Turkey is the only country in the region operation without any significant disruption.
As always, ILBSG actively monitors ongoing U.S. immigration news. If you have questions about any U.S. immigration related issue, please contact us. Working with an experienced attorney ensures you get the right advice based on the most recent laws and policy updates. In an ever-evolving immigration landscape, it’s particularly critical you get the right advice.