In Little Haiti, a Brooklyn neighborhood built by immigrants, the latest federal policy is raising new questions about legal pathways to the United States.

The State Department is pausing some immigrant visas for people from 75 countries, including Haiti, next week, saying those applicants are more likely to need public assistance.

What You Need To Know

  • The State Department is pausing some immigrant visas for people from 75 countries, including Haiti, next week, saying those applicants are more likely to need public assistance

  • Immigration attorney Luis Gomez Alfaro says the pause stops cases at the final step

  • Alfaro says visa applicants need to stay on top of their paperwork in the interim

  • The policy will impact family reunification and people coming to the U.S. for work

“It’s a bad situation for everyone involved. I could get emotional, but it won’t solve the problem,” Brooklyn resident Desiree Jean-Jerome said.

Immigration attorney Luis Gomez Alfaro says the pause stops cases at the final step.

“Consular officers will not approve or print a visa for a future resident of the United States,” Alfaro said.

That includes people coming to the U.S. for work.

“If someone had secure employment in the United States,” Alfaro said, “they will not be given a visa to come and work in the United States.”

The policy will also impact family reunification.

“If a parent of a United States citizen or a spouse was waiting to come to the United States to join their spouse or their child, they wouldn’t be able to do so,” Alfaro said.

Alfaro says even some applicants who were already approved could be stuck if they never received a printed visa.

“Those unlucky applicants who were approved, but have not physically received the visa printed will also not receive it because printing visas has also been suspended,” Alfaro said.

“Life is on pause for you. I don’t know what else to say. It sucks,” Jean-Jerome said.

Alfaro says visa applicants need to stay on top of their paperwork in the interim.

“That includes constantly answering correspondence that they are still interested in their case,” Alfaro said.