Recently, U.S. visa screening has once again drawn attention. On April 28, local time, the U.S. Department of State issued an urgent notice to all embassies and consulates worldwide: effective immediately, all applicants for U.S. non-immigrant visas must answer two additional questions during their interviews!
The new regulation explicitly requires U.S. embassies and consulates abroad to ask non-immigrant visa applicants the following two questions during the adjudication process:
1. Have you ever suffered harm or abuse in your country of nationality or last habitual residence?
2. Do you fear that you will suffer harm or abuse if you return to your country of nationality or permanent residence?
The visa review process can only proceed if the applicant verbally answers "No" to both questions; if the applicant answers "Yes," the visa will be denied on the spot.
The sensitive nature of this new regulation lies in the fact that it not only affects the current visa outcome but may also impact the applicant's future applications for status within the United States, placing the applicant in a dilemma.
If an applicant answers "Yes," admitting that they fear returning to their home country, the visa officer may conclude that they do not meet the temporary visit requirement for a non-immigrant visa and subsequently deny the visa.
If an applicant answers "No," but later applies for asylum after entering the United States, the U.S. government may retrieve the interview records from the visa stage to question whether they made a false statement at that time. Once determined to be fraudulent, they will face permanent visa denial and deportation.
This new regulation, combined with multiple other policies, has further increased the difficulty of applying for a U.S. visa:
Since March 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of State has expanded the scope of online identity screening, requiring applicants for 14 types of non-immigrant visas, including F1 student visas, to set the privacy settings of all their social media profiles to public.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of State has tightened the interview waiver policy. Since October 2025, most non-immigrant visa applicants are, in principle, required to attend an interview, with only a few categories and eligible short-term renewal applicants potentially receiving an exemption.
In addition, the U.S. is expanding its visa bond policy. Since April 2, 2026, applicants from certain countries may be required to pay a bond of up to $15,000 when applying for a U.S. visa to reduce the risk of overstaying.
Meanwhile, efforts to combat immigration fraud and related illegal activities will be intensified, and some past approval cases will be reviewed, including green cards and other immigration benefits granted during the Biden administration.
Regarding H-1B visas, the random lottery system has been abolished in favor of a wage-level weighted lottery, where higher salaries result in higher chances of selection, significantly reducing opportunities for ordinary graduates.
Taken together, these policies indicate that U.S. immigration screening is forming a more complete closed loop: checking intent before the visa, monitoring behavior after entry, and verifying material consistency and background records when applying for immigration benefits.
For families with genuine long-term needs to visit the U.S., the implications of these policy changes are clear: if the goal is merely short-term tourism, business, visiting relatives, or study, one should prepare materials according to the logic of the corresponding non-immigrant visa; however, if the family already has long-term plans for living in the U.S., children's education, asset allocation, career development, or even permanent residency, they should not rely on non-immigrant visas to support their immigration goals for the long term.
The focus of a non-immigrant visa is "temporary visit"; while the focus of an immigration pathway is "long-term residence."
Therefore, for high-net-worth families, business owners, investors, and families hoping to plan ahead for their children's U.S. education and status development, they should evaluate earlier whether they are suitable for immigration pathways such as EB-5 to achieve U.S. status arrangements that are more aligned with their long-term goals.
Currently, the EB-5 program remains in a relatively favorable policy window under the new law. Taking the Rural EB-5 project as an example, it currently enjoys the benefit of no visa backlog and priority processing; at the same time, the "concurrent filing" policy allows eligible applicants in the U.S. to file Form I-526E and Form I-485 simultaneously, enabling them to obtain a Combo card in about 3 months, thereby securing legal residence, work authorization, and travel convenience as early as possible.
However, this window will not remain open indefinitely. As the reserved visa quota continues to be consumed, the pressure of a backlog is gradually emerging; meanwhile, grandfathering provisions will expire on September 30; and the minimum investment amount may also be increased from $800,000 to $900,000 or more on January 1, 2027. In other words, for families intending to plan for U.S. status, the sooner they start, the more likely they are to lock in the current relatively clear and favorable policy conditions.
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