Pakistan hopes US will ‘soon’ resume immigrant visa processing

The Foreign Office of Pakistan said on Thursday that it expects the United States to restart immigrant visa processing “soon”, describing the sudden halt as part of a broader internal review by Washington rather than a permanent policy shift.

The US State Department announced on Wednesday that it was suspending immigrant visa processing for Pakistan and 74 other countries from January 21.

In its announcement, the State Department said that the pause would stay in place until the United States could be satisfied that new immigrants would not place a financial burden on American taxpayers.

Addressing the issue, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said that Pakistan had taken note of the reports. He said the announcement appeared to be limited in scope, explaining that it was “a brief statement by the US State Department on their social media account” related to an internal review of visa processing.

Andrabi said Pakistan was seeking further clarity from US officials. “We are in touch with the US authorities to ascertain further details,” he said, adding that the situation was still developing and being closely monitored.

The spokesperson said Pakistan understood the move as part of a wider reassessment of US immigration policies. “We understand that this is an internal ongoing process of review of the US immigration system,” he said, expressing hope that “the routine processing of immigrant visas will resume soon”.

The suspension is expected to affect thousands of Pakistanis who apply for US immigrant visas each year for family reunification, education and employment.