United States | State Department issues guidance on Diversity Visa pause, effective immediately

On Dec. 23, 2025, the State Department announced it had paused all visa issuances to Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) applicants effective immediately and issued updated guidance through an FAQ section.

Key Points:

• According to the FAQ, “DV applicants may submit visa applications and attend interviews, and the Department will continue to schedule applicants for appointments, but no DVs will be issued. Existing DV appointments generally will not be rescheduled or cancelled.”
• The FAQ also states that “no diversity or other visas have been revoked as part of this guidance.”
• Currently, there are no exceptions to this guidance per the FAQ, which also instructs that questions regarding admission to the U.S. be directed to the Department of Homeland Security.

Additional Information: The DV Program allows nationals from countries with historically low U.S. immigration rates to apply for a chance to seek permanent residence. Each year, up to 55,000 visas are made available through the program.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a policy memorandum on Dec. 19, effective immediately, pausing all pending adjustment of status (AOS) applications under the DV Program. The policy also calls for implementing a comprehensive review of the program’s AOS applicant-related policies, procedures, and screening and vetting processes, as well as mandating interviews for certain DV Program applicants.

BAL is closely monitoring USCIS and State Department developments regarding the DV pause. We will issue updates as additional information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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