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Seoul: EB-3 visas issued

Immigrant visa: Skilled worker or professional, and their spouse and children

Immigrant visa interviews may be delayed
News reports only; no State Department notice

News reports say many U.S. embassies delayed immigrant visa interviews from August 2026, while officers trained on new rules. We do not know if this has ended, so watch your email for any change to your interview.

Details

In August 2026, U.S. embassies and consulates reportedly postponed immigrant visa interviews while their consular officers were trained on new public charge guidance: rules on whether an applicant is likely to depend on public benefits. They emailed applicants with interviews booked that the interviews would be rescheduled. The State Department acknowledged the pause in a statement on August 25, but it has posted no notice about it on its website.

On August 26, a State Department statement quoted by Fox News said its training initiative started in early August. On August 27, the Associated Press quoted a State Department official saying that the pause began in early August and was not expected to last beyond early to mid-September. The official said the interviews affected, most of them scheduled for August, would be rescheduled for September, October and November.

The latest report we have found, from Reuters on September 8, said that processing had started again for Hungary and Poland while the pause continued elsewhere, and that it could last months, according to a person familiar with the matter. Reuters also said that the pause came after the August 21 court ruling against the 75-country pause, and that the government told a court interviews were rescheduled through August 31. We have found no report on whether the pause is still in effect.

If your interview was postponed, or is coming up, check your email and the embassy's website: NVC and embassies may reschedule interviews, including ones already booked.

Sources: Fox News: Trump admin pauses visa appointments worldwide amid heightened screening for applicants (August 26, 2026); Associated Press, via NBC News: Trump administration pauses all immigrant visa applications amid new screening policy (August 27, 2026); Ogletree: State Department Pauses Immigrant Visa Interviews for New Public Charge Guidance Training (August 31, 2026); Reuters, via Yahoo News: US resumes immigrant visa processing for Hungary, Poland as pause remains elsewhere (September 8, 2026).

Last checked Sep 25, 2026.

Interview scheduling at Seoul

Employment (one month for EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 and EB-5)

NVC is scheduling most interviews for cases that became documentarily complete in November 2023. In the previous update, from Apr 2, 2026, it was October 2023.

Spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens

NVC is scheduling most interviews for cases that became documentarily complete in July 2026. In the previous update, from Apr 2, 2026, it was February 2026.

Family preference (one month for F1, F2A, F2B, F3 and F4)

NVC is scheduling most interviews for cases that became documentarily complete in February 2026. It is the same month as in the previous update, from Apr 2, 2026.

Compare this with the month NVC told you your case was documentarily complete, which means NVC accepted all your documents. It is not a wait time: it is the month most interviews are being scheduled for now, and it can move backwards. Family preference and employment cases also need a current priority date in the Visa Bulletin.

The State Department says it cannot predict exactly when a case will be scheduled. Source: State Department IV Scheduling Status Tool, updated Sep 23, 2026.

From Mar 2025 to Feb 2026, Seoul issued 330 EB-3 visas, about 28 a month, about the same as the 12 months before.

This counts visas issued, which shows how busy the post is, not how long you will wait. The State Department data here ends in February 2026, so it cannot show what has changed since then, such as pauses that started or ended later.

Visas issued per month
020406080100120202420252026
Source: the U.S. Department of State’s monthly immigrant visa issuance statistics.
The monthly counts are stored in JSON lines files on GitHub.