In a move that is going to have major impacts to the hospitality industry, the Trump administration has ordered its embassies abroad to temporarily stop scheduling new visa interview appointments at U.S. embassies and consulates for students and exchange visitors, effective immediately. This includes the J-1 visa work and travel program as well as the J-1 intern program.
This move was made in tandem with the Trump administration pausing embassy and consulate appointments for F-1 students. The news about student visa holder appointments being paused made headlines across the country. What has been reported much less, but is included in this initiative, was also the pausing of U.S. embassy and consulate appointments for J-1 summer work and travel and J-1 intern visa applications.
Once again, this change serves as a critical reminder to reevaluate your staffing plans for upcoming seasons and to explore supplementing your staff with U.S. and H-2B visa workers to ensure a stable workforce that allows you to meet your staffing needs.
Why are the embassies and consulates pausing the scheduling of J-1 visa appointments?
On Tuesday, May 27th, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a cable asking U.S. consulates and embassies to pause new visa interviews as the State Department plans to expand the screening of student and exchange visitor applicants’ social media accounts. The cable further stated that the State Department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitors (visa classifications: F, M, and J) visa applications, and based on the review, plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants. In preparation for the expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consulates have been directed not to add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity.
There is no timeline for how long this pause will be in effect. Further, with delays already starting to occur at U.S. embassy and consulate for making appointments for visa issuance due to policies and initiatives already undertaken by the Trump administration, including understaffing the agencies, obtaining a new visa appointment once the paused is removed could take months.
Who does this announcement impact?
The halt on the visa interview appointments seems to be temporary until the State Department has further guidelines in place in terms of the social media vetting. Furthermore, the announcement does not apply to J-1 visa holders who have already scheduled their visa interviews.
For individuals who have not scheduled their interviews yet, it is unclear how long the halt will last. The State Department notes that visa applicants may continue to submit applications. Since it is unclear about how long the halt will last for J-1 interviews, clients who are expecting J-1 workers this season should expect delays in receiving their interns/workers if appointments have not yet been made for visa issuance at consulates and embassies.
What’s behind the Trump administration’s halt on J-1 visa interviews?
Halting J-1 visa interviews appears to be tied to the Trump Administration’s lasted step toward cracking down on U.S. universities, and as stated above, particularly toward international students who showed support for Palestinians in Gaza over the past year. The J-1 visa program unfortunately is being wrapped up with F-1 student visas.
Importantly, the H-2B visa program is unaffected by the visa interview appointment pause, and H-2B visa appointments are still being able to be scheduled. However, H-2B visa workers still need to be cognizant and mindful about social media, as social media vetting applies to all visa types, including H-2B visas.
What should your property do if you rely heavily on J-1 visa workers
Much is still unknown. However, this is yet another example of the Trump administration’s negative views of the J-1 visa program and more evidence of the precarious position that J-1 visas are in with this administration. Furthermore, we are seeing how quickly the Trump administration can move in re-shaping – and limiting and pausing – the program.
Due to the Trump administration’s initiatives aimed at limiting the J-1 visa program, now is the time to be looking at how you would staff positions where you currently rely heavily on J-1 visa holders. Are there alternative staffing models that you can take with American workers? Are there different recruiting methods that you can undertake that might find you more American workers?
If you cannot staff the roles with U.S. workers, we strongly encourage you to consider adding H-2B visa positions and/or increasing your H-2B visa numbers in positions that you are reliant upon J-1 visa workers. Where the H-2B visa program takes about six (6) months from the start of the petition to your organization being approved for workers, it is important to consider your needs well in advance if you are unable to staff with J-1 visa workers.
In short, now is the time to diversify your staffing for any roles where you are reliant upon J-1 visa holders. Especially if you need to add H-2B visa workers to protect your organization, delaying any decisions could lead you to being grossly understaffed if the Trump administration makes J-1 visas disappear. Additionally, diversifying your work pool could mitigate any effects of the visa appointment halts, such as delays in receiving J-1 visa workers.
We encourage you to reach out to us to further discuss and strategize on how best to staff in the months ahead. We are always happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Thank you,
Keith and the Pabian Law team