US Green Card Pause for 75 Countries: What's Happening and What Applicants Can Do

The US administration has paused immigrant visa processing (green cards) for applicants from 75 countries applying from outside the US, but nonimmigrant programs like O-1 and L-1 aren’t affected, and applicants have concrete options.

In short

• The pause affects applicants outside the US and those inside the US who’ve reached the interview stage but haven’t gotten a visa stamped into their passport yet.
• Historically, pauses have lasted from two weeks to a year and a half (COVID); there’s no legal limit on how long one can run.
• Nonimmigrant visas O-1 and L-1 aren’t covered by the pause — a working backup track for anyone whose green card petition isn’t approved yet.
• The filing country for O-1/L-1 affects the consul’s decision: proving no immigrant intent is harder from Georgia, Turkey, Russia, or Thailand.
• After arriving on an O-1 or L-1, you can later file for a green card from inside the US — the status doesn’t close off the immigration path.

What the pause for 75 countries actually means

The administration of President Donald Trump has paused immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, according to available information — the measure applies to applicants filing from outside the US. In practice, this means consular processing for citizens of affected countries does not move forward until the pause is lifted, even if every other stage of the process has already been completed.

A telling case involves applicants who already had their green card petition approved and a visa interview scheduled: the interview proceeds normally, with detailed questions and no sign that it’s a formality. But instead of a visa, the applicant receives a document citing an administrative pause — with no explanation of what kind of review this is or when it will end. When applicants directly ask whether this is an administrative review, they’re told no, and are left with a vague promise of a callback with no timeline.

When applicants directly ask whether this is an administrative review, they’re told no, and are left with a vague promise of a callback with no timeline.

What happens to the process for applicants already inside the US

For those inside the US who already have an approved green card petition, the process is officially not paused — the pause applies only to applicants outside the country. But in practice, this distinction barely registers: an applicant can clear every stage after petition approval, even reach the visa interview, and still walk away with paperwork citing a technical hold tied to the administrative pause instead of a visa.

This isn’t a permanent denial. In one documented case, the applicant went through a long, serious interview with many questions — nothing suggested the process was a formality — and still received this kind of paperwork. When asked directly whether this was an administrative review, the consulate said no and promised a callback with no timeline whatsoever.

The mechanics work like this: the applicant receives a Request for Evidence (RFE), responds to it, and waits for an interview date. Once the date is set, the applicant can complete the medical exam and the interview itself, but even with a favorable decision, the visa won’t physically be stamped into the passport. Once the administrative pause is lifted, everyone who received this kind of paperwork will be called back to the consulate — this time to get the visa stamped and become eligible to enter the US.

even with a favorable decision, the visa won’t physically be stamped into the passport

How long a US visa pause can last

Pauses like this have happened before — under Trump and under other presidents. The longest one stretched to a year and a half: that was the COVID period, when consulates were partially shut down and weren’t meeting applicants or issuing visas for the objective reason of closed borders. Every other pause in the history of the US immigration system has been shorter — from two weeks to five months at the longest.

There’s no legal limit on how long such a pause can last — not in days, not in years. In theory, it could stretch until the end of the presidential term, and if the current president is re-elected or succeeded by someone with a similar stance, it could run even longer, though that’s an extreme scenario rather than a typical one. These numbers aren’t a guarantee of anything: the current pause could end sooner than past ones or drag on longer — there’s no precise benchmark beyond historical precedent.

Class-action lawsuits against the visa pause

Some applicants have already joined class-action lawsuits attempting to prove the pause is unlawful and to secure visa issuance. There are no rulings on these lawsuits yet, and until there are, it’s impossible to gauge the odds of any individual case.

At the same time, separate pressure on the administration is building from another direction — companies, corporations, unions, and legal associations with a stake in the flow of skilled workers have also filed lawsuits challenging the restrictions.

For an applicant not directly involved in litigation, the logic goes like this: if the first court rulings succeed, that creates a precedent — and others could then file on that basis, including demands to speed up visa processing through the courts. But a quick resolution shouldn’t be expected: the current administration handles court rulings differently than previous ones, working around them through other methods. So even if one pause is struck down, that’s no guarantee the administration won’t impose a new one whenever it chooses.

the current administration handles court rulings differently than previous ones, working around them through other methods

Who the pause doesn’t touch: O-1, L-1, and other nonimmigrant visas

The pause only applies to immigrant green cards and doesn’t touch nonimmigrant programs — including dual-intent visas like L-1 and O-1. That means an applicant who hasn’t yet filed a green card petition, or whose petition isn’t approved, is entitled to declare no immigrant intent and pursue a track that’s still operating.

In practice, this is an exit route for anyone who hasn’t formally declared immigrant intent yet: instead of the immigration path, they can pivot to O-1 or L-1. Right now this is the most popular option — O-1 applications have jumped noticeably, so backlogs there are likely.

The catch is different: O-1 and L-1 require proving the absence of immigrant intent, which means justifying plans in the US and explaining why the applicant intends to return once the project wraps up. L-1, as a representational visa built around a work assignment abroad, is generally considered more reliable on this front, but O-1 works too with solid document preparation.

An important caveat: this restriction doesn’t block a later switch to a green card. After arriving in the US on an O-1 or L-1, an applicant can file for a green card from inside the country — meaning the status doesn’t close off the immigration path, it just pushes it to a later stage.

O-1 vs L-1 as a backup track during the pause

Criterion	O-1	L-1
Visa type	Visa for individuals with extraordinary ability	Intracompany transfer (work-assignment format)
Strength of proof of no immigrant intent	Works with solid document preparation	Considered more reliable — the assignment format removes some scrutiny
Current demand	Applications have risen noticeably, backlogs likely	Not specified
Later switch to a green card	Possible later, from inside the US	Possible later, from inside the US

Based on one examined case, not official statistics.

Which countries to file O-1 or L-1 applications from

The country of application directly affects the consul’s decision: it determines how easy it is to prove the absence of immigrant intent. Applicants from Georgia, Turkey, Serbia, or Russia will likely find it harder to get approved — the consul sees that the person is there temporarily and may not want to return if the situation in their own country changes. The same logic applies to Thailand and Indonesia: permanent citizenship isn’t available there, and the consulate assumes the applicant will eventually leave that country too. The less permanent the applicant’s tie to the filing country, the more doubt there is about whether they intend to stay in the US rather than return.

At the other end of the spectrum are long-term privileged programs like Global Talent in the UK or the Talent Passport in France: consuls tend to trust holders of these, and there’s no record of applicants filing from Paris running into trouble over suspected immigrant intent. But that’s no guarantee either: a consul can question the absence of immigrant intent in any country, so preparing to justify US plans and intent to return is necessary regardless of where you file from.

Among dual-intent options, the L-1 representational visa is considered the most reliable — the applicant is effectively sent on a work assignment, which on its own removes some of the scrutiny. O-1 works too, if the case is built seriously. For both visas, it can make sense not to file directly but to route the application through a country the US holds in high regard: France, the UK, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and roughly a dozen other European countries. The key condition for this kind of route is being able to explain to the consul your specific tie to that country and the grounds to believe you’ll return there.

Backup plans: UK Global Talent, French Talent Passport, and others

Some applicants are building a backup route in advance, without waiting for a ruling on the pause. In the case examined here, that means a combination of the UK’s Global Talent visa and France’s Talent Passport (blue card) — two parallel statuses to choose between depending on which is more favorable at a given moment.

The case for the UK rests on the English language and more opportunities to raise business investment, plus the fact that the applicant’s child is already in an English-language school. By the applicant’s own assessment, getting a UK passport through Global Talent isn’t any slower than the French route, and is often faster — this is a subjective judgment, not official processing-time statistics.

If a document package for a US O-1 or EB-1A has already been assembled, it can serve as a foundation for a Global Talent application: the requirements are similar, though the materials need substantial reworking for the different program. In this setup, Britain functions as a staging ground to wait out the US pause decision without being left in limbo.

The decision in this case was to spend at least a year in Britain for the sake of a stable school routine for the child, regardless of how long the US pause drags on. That doesn’t rule out running a parallel track in France: the blue card requires spending a set number of days per year in France, which in this case works alongside frequent business trips.

If the green card does get approved, one thing matters: a green card doesn’t require moving to the US immediately — it comes with limits on how many days you can be absent from the country. Under a favorable scenario, the first year can be spent in Britain while formally holding the already-approved green card.

Beyond the British and French tracks, other backup setups exist: some applicants are pursuing Spanish, French, or Portuguese paperwork, while others go for Global Talent itself or the Innovator Founder startup visa. The case examined here describes this kind of infrastructure as noticeably more comfortable than alternatives like Georgia or Spain.

Outlook: how long to wait and what to plan for

Lifting the pause could take a year, two, or three — or it could happen quickly: the timeline isn’t predictable. The administration can lift one restriction and immediately impose another if it decides to, so even a successful court precedent doesn’t guarantee the pause won’t come back in a new form. Given that, it’s worth building in a time buffer — there’s no guarantee the restriction will be lifted in the coming months.

That leaves two practical courses of action. The first is switching to O-1 or L-1 category visas, filing through countries with more lenient consuls where possible. The second is building a year-long infrastructure for living and working abroad, to ride out the pause decision calmly without stalling business operations. Of the jurisdictions discussed, only the US realistically offers full earning power — Europe and the UK, in this sense, function as a temporary fallback, not a replacement.

Frequently asked questions

How many days can you be absent from the US on a green card if you stay in Britain for a year

A green card doesn’t require moving to the US immediately, but it does set a limit on how many days you can be absent from the country. Under a favorable scenario, the first year after getting a green card can be spent in Britain while formally holding the already-approved status.

Can you apply for a green card from inside the US on an O-1 or L-1 visa

Yes: the restriction on switching status doesn’t block a later green card filing. After arriving on an O-1 or L-1, an applicant can file for a green card from inside the country — the status doesn’t close off the immigration path, it just pushes it to a later stage.

Is it worth joining a class-action lawsuit if your visa got caught in the pause

Some applicants have already joined class-action lawsuits trying to prove the pause is unlawful and get their visas issued. But there are no rulings on these lawsuits yet, so until there are, it’s impossible to gauge the odds of any individual case — this isn’t a fast or guaranteed path.

Can a successful lawsuit permanently end the visa pause

No. Even if the first court rulings succeed and create a precedent, the administration handles court rulings differently than before, working around them through other methods. So striking down one pause doesn’t guarantee the administration won’t impose a new one whenever it chooses.

Which visa is more reliable for proving no immigrant intent — O-1 or L-1

L-1 is generally considered more reliable, since it’s a representational visa built around a work assignment — the assignment itself removes some of the consul’s scrutiny. O-1 works too, but it requires more thorough document preparation and justification of plans to return.