The US Department's pause on immigrant and diversity visa on Nepal and 74 other countries has officially ended , followed by the federal court ruling that the nationality based freeze on visa to be unlawful violating the Immigration and Nationality Act.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan the policy illegal in a case called CLINIC v. Rubio.
The State Department had suspended immigrant visa processing in January for nationals of the 75 countries, covering nearly 40 per cent of countries worldwide.
The bond requirement and immigrant visa pause were both part of a broader tightening of US immigration policy affecting dozens of countries through 2026, alongside a separate travel restriction proclamation covering 39 other nations. Nepal has repeatedly found itself on these expanded lists even as it remains one of the largest source countries for both US bound diversity-visa applicants and family based immigrant petitions.
For Nepali families who assumed the court ruling means a clean return to normal processing, the surviving bond requirement mean real financial and procedural hurdles remain. Applicants are being advised not to treat the reversal as a full resolution, particularly those still waiting on diversity-visa cases against the looming September 30 deadline.
The bond requirement applies regardless of where in the world a Nepali citizen applies for a B1/B2 visa, and applicants are directed to the U.S. Embassy Kathmandu's website for updated processing guidance.
