The Trump administration has ordered all visa applications be placed on hold and canceled scheduled interviews at U.S. embassies around the world as it works to tighten restrictions on who is allowed into the country, a move that is likely to significantly reduce the number of visas issued to potential visitors, students and immigrants.

The pause is meant to allow for “in-depth training” for embassy and consulate employees in hopes they'll learn to reject the visa applications of foreigners who could end up becoming a financial burden for the government.

The pause comes days after a judge ruled against Trump’s pause on immigration applications from 75 mostly poorer countries, visitors from which the administration thinks are more likely to ultimately need public assistance.

History shows similar pauses have resulted in a significant drop in the number of visas issued after application processing resumes, and some countries have historically been impacted more than others.

After a month-long pause in processing student visa applications last May, State Department data shows the issuance of F-1 student visas took a nose dive—dropping 36% from May to August 2025 when compared to the previous year.

Almost 100,000 fewer student visas were awarded (resulting in an at least 17% decrease in new international student enrollments) and India, the top sender of students to the U.S., saw a visa issuance drop of more than 60%.

A State Department spokesperson told news outlets it launched “a global training initiative” this month to “ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently.” The Trump administration wants to cut down on the number of immigrants who move to the U.S. and end up relying on assistance programs like Medicaid, SNAP and Section 8 housing subsidies. The administration earlier this year tried to fully ban applications from residents of 75 countries, including some of the world’s poorest countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Haiti, but a judge last week ruled the move exceeded the authority of the secretary of state. Cracking down on immigration has been a hallmark of the Trump presidency: he’s overseen a rounding up of undocumented immigrants in major cities, imposed new limits on visas and green cards and ended nearly all refugee resettlement. The administration this week also announced plans to revoke up to 200,000 visas from asylum seekers who initially entered the country for tourism or business, which would end up being the largest mass pulling of visas in the history of the United States.

Immigrants typically use public safety-net programs at lower individual rates than native-born Americans. Roughly 13.7% of all immigrants participate in Medicaid, compared to 16% of native-born Americans; 2.9% of immigrants receive SSI cash assistance, compared to 3.1% of native-born Americans; and less than 1% of immigrants receive traditional cash welfare, according to the CATO Institute .

When the visa appointments will resume. The state department did not say when embassies will be allowed to continue processing international visas.