U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China Cancel Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Interviews for Week of Feb. 3

Key Takeaways

• It has been reported that the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and U.S. consulates in China have canceled all immigrant and nonimmigrant visa interviews for the week of Feb. 3.
• The cancellations reportedly affect both immigrant visas (green card/consular processing) and nonimmigrant visas (temporary categories such as B, F, H, L, etc.), potentially delaying travel and immigration plans.
• Affected applicants should monitor their appointment portals and embassy/consulate websites, and consider requesting emergency appointments only if they have urgent, time‑sensitive needs.
• This is likely to create short‑term backlog and rescheduling pressure; petition approvals from USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) do not remove the need for a consular interview to obtain a visa stamp.

What happened

It has been reported that the U.S. Embassy and consulates in China canceled scheduled immigrant and nonimmigrant visa interviews during the week beginning Feb. 3. The notice appears to cover routine consular operations and applies to both immigrant visa applicants—those seeking lawful permanent residence via consular processing—and nonimmigrant applicants seeking temporary visas such as tourist (B), student (F), work (H/L) or investor categories (including EB‑5 applicants who require a consular interview to receive their immigrant visas).

For many applicants a consular interview is the final step after petition approval by USCIS or after filing the required immigrant visa paperwork with the National Visa Center. A canceled interview therefore interrupts that last step; a confirmed USCIS approval does not automatically convert into an entry document without the consular appointment and visa issuance.

Who is affected and what to do now

Any applicant scheduled for an interview that week should immediately monitor the appointment system and official embassy/consulate announcements for rescheduling instructions. Applicants with emergencies—such as urgent medical treatment, imminent travel for family or work, or pending deadlines—should use the embassy’s emergency appointment process referenced on their local consulate website; however, emergency slots are limited and reserved for narrowly defined urgent cases. Attorneys and petitioners should notify clients and consider contingency planning (like flexible travel dates) because canceled interviews may push cases past intended timelines.

Context and human impact

Short-term suspensions of consular services create tangible hardship: family reunification is delayed, employment start dates can be missed, student arrivals postponed, and investor immigration timelines (e.g., EB‑5 consular processing) can be disrupted. While consular closures are occasionally necessary for security, staffing, or public‑health reasons, they add to existing backlogs and appointment scarcity that many applicants already face. For now, applicants should preserve all original documents, keep copies of correspondence, and stay in contact with their attorneys or petitioning family members to respond quickly when new appointment dates are posted.

Source: [Original Article](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMixAJBVV95cUxQaFNrbTg4dkhXOGxORGdQLU5nX05SbVQ5U3hEc2c0X0pXSVE0UTk4VXdxU2dFUWk2eTJzYUNpQy1YcERXZ3JZZS1JamgxWDdGdUw3NF9CTkRVeGVFWUxiSnNkREtRdWNfemxKY19tanpOcmNQTmhuLVlERHBFRENXLWVuYzlJQUlwc1VvSjlKeVhWMktCWlJqWTV3V3F6Qzd3eWxYNGV4T255dHRDN094Y3YxTHJkRGQza1VJMVZIZ2JHSUNUWmQ4Rk9UQXhoQ3RyTDU1Vi1NX21KLVUzNzdRVTBnYlotM2FEa2JXWFVKcXlZSkM5Z1V2ZFppRFNUQ0pCU296RmtGcGx6cXBLSXBEQ1hsLVhKbHlOMWFESjN2TF9LSWdacWlDUXhxeFAyZVkteWlLUEhWdi1EQ2tiNVRtSVhiUjc?oc=5