Parents across the Emirates are scrambling after the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi confirmed that routine non-immigrant visa processing remains suspended, with priority given to American-citizen services following staff withdrawals earlier this year. A Khaleej Times report updated on 22 July 2026 chronicles how UAE-based students admitted to US universities are unable to secure F-1 interview slots either locally or in their home countries, jeopardising fall-semester plans. Some families have considered deferring admissions or switching destinations to the UK, Canada or Australia. Education agents report a 40 % spike in requests to transfer deposits, while airlines have logged a rise in seat cancellations on August trans-Atlantic routes originating from Dubai. The embassy advises applicants to monitor global wait-time tables and use the expedite-request function, but immigration lawyers caution that approvals are rare and documentation must prove “substantial humanitarian or national-interest grounds”. For corporate mobility teams, the bottleneck affects dependants of employees on US assignments who planned to start college abroad, adding complexity to family-reunification timelines. Risk managers also warn that students attempting “visa-shopping” in third countries face higher refusal odds and could trigger security-clearance delays. Companies sponsoring scholarship programmes should liaise with US partners to explore on-campus late-arrival policies or remote-start options. While the State Department has begun redeploying consular staff to key Gulf posts, officials privately concede that capacity is unlikely to normalise before October. Families are therefore urged to pursue contingency plans, including alternative study destinations or virtual enrolment for the first semester.
Source: Khaleej Times
