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US Embassy London · Re-interview

Called back to interview after a 221(g)

You were refused under 221(g) before the September 2026 interview cancellations, and instead of a decision on paper you now have a new interview date. London has been calling these cases back with an instruction to bring your passport and all your documents. This page explains what the officer can look at again, what has changed since your first interview, and what to do before the new date.

Do these first
  1. Reply to the email to confirm you will attend. Do not move the date in AIS: you can only reschedule to a later date.
  2. Work out which kind of 221(g) you hold (below). It decides what the officer can reopen.
  3. Check your dates with the interview date checker: medical (valid 6 months, and you must enter the US within those 6 months), passport, police certificate, and the one-year 221(g) deadline.
  4. Send a public charge statement at least five working days before the new date. Every immigrant visa case now gets the public charge worksheet.
  5. Treat it as a full interview. Bring every original.
On this page
  1. Which 221(g) do you hold?
  2. An ordinary 221(g)
  3. A pause-only 221(g)
  4. What has changed since your first interview
  5. What to do before the new date
  6. Possible outcomes
  7. Sources

Which 221(g) do you hold?

Look at your green sheet, or the email that refused you. There are three possibilities.

An ordinary 221(g): documents were ticked For example, a joint sponsor, an IRS transcript, or proof of domicile. The sheet had "submission of additional evidence" ticked, and nothing to do with your nationality. A pause-only 221(g): refused because of your nationality You interviewed on a passport from one of the 75 listed countries between January and August 2026, and the only reason given was the nationality visa pause. Administrative processing was ticked You were told the case needs further review, possibly with a request for 15 years of history and a CV. That is a security or technical review. A new interview is not the usual next step: see the 221(g) page.

This is expected. Cable 26 STATE 88862 (10 September 2026) contemplates applicants being asked to re-appear for an additional interview, and requires officers to complete the public charge worksheet in all immigrant visa cases. In one reported London case the applicant was refused under the pause in May 2026 after a five-minute interview, was emailed on 23 September 2026 and was given a date of 2 October 2026. See the September 2026 update.

An ordinary 221(g) does not lock in the old standard

A 221(g) is a refusal. When a refused case is picked up again within one year and you have supplied evidence to overcome the refusal, the post reconsiders it (22 CFR 42.81(e)). The public charge decision is made by the officer “at the time of application for a visa” (INA 212(a)(4)(A)). The officer who sees you on the new date has had the new training and works through the new worksheet, and their decision may be reviewed by a manager.

What that means in practice The ticked box on your old sheet is no longer everything you need to clear. Supplying the joint sponsor documents dealt with what was asked then. At the new interview, the officer can assess all five public charge factors about you, as well as both sponsors' finances.
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A pause-only 221(g): sent back, not to the start

If the only reason for your 221(g) was the 75-country pause, the court set that refusal aside and sent it back to a consular officer. The court said it “does not direct any particular outcome or process so long as any refusal is not based upon the Policy” (CLINIC v. Rubio, Opinion and Order, ECF 83 at 58). The January 2026 cable had also required officers to assess every applicant for public charge before entering a pause refusal. So in most cases an officer had already looked at your public charge factors and found no other ground to refuse you.

At the 31 August 2026 conference, according to our notes of the public call, the judge pressed the point that these cases should not be reassessed under new public charge requirements. Government counsel agreed that this was his understanding, but said some cases may need re-evaluation. Since then, the Department has told the court that some applicants will be asked for more information about public charge. The 10 September cable still requires the worksheet in every immigrant visa case.

How to read that You should not be starting from zero, but you may still be asked public charge questions. Prepare the statement and evidence anyway, because it costs little. If a new 221(g) is issued, the cable requires the officer to state the specific reason. A new 221(g) that rests on nothing but a fresh public charge review of an unchanged case is worth raising with an immigration attorney. The plaintiffs have already gone back to court once over compliance with the order (ECF 86, 26 August 2026).
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What has changed since your first interview

A remand is not a guarantee that the visa will be issued. No visa may be issued to an applicant the officer finds ineligible, so the officer decides eligibility on the facts as they stand on the new date. This applies to both kinds of 221(g).

What changedWhy it matters on the new date
The public charge worksheetDeployed to every post on 15 August 2026 and required in every immigrant visa case from 10 September. Expect questions about your own work, savings, health and qualifications. See public charge.
The petitioner moved abroadThe most serious change. The petitioner must be domiciled in the US to be a sponsor at all, and a joint sponsor cannot make up for it: “A joint sponsor cannot be accepted and the applicant must be refused pursuant to INA 212(a)(4)” (9 FAM 601.14-7(a)(3)(c)). Bring evidence of a temporary absence with US ties kept up, qualifying employment abroad, or real steps to re-establish US residence no later than the date you immigrate. See the petitioner's domicile problem.
A new tax yearThe I-864 requires the most recent tax year. If a sponsor has filed a newer return since the documents were prepared, bring the new IRS transcript and current evidence of income.
Form I-864 editionUSCIS states that only the 08/24/26 edition, with its new credit report authorization, is accepted from 1 October 2026. The Department of State has not published whether an earlier edition already on file for a consular case must be replaced. Any new I-864 signed now should be on the 08/24/26 edition, and the sponsor should lift any credit freeze.
Your medicalMedical results are valid for 6 months from the exam, and you must enter the US within those same 6 months. A medical done for your first interview may already have expired, or leave too little time to travel after the new date. Expect to need a new one, and raise it with the Immigrant Visa Unit when you reply to confirm.
Passport and police certificateYour passport should be valid for six months beyond your intended date of entry. Check your ACRO certificate is within 12 months. Government counsel told the court that time-limited evidence will need to be resubmitted where it has expired.

Check all your dates at once →

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What to do before the new date

  1. Close the original request completely. Check that everything ticked on your sheet is in CEAC, and in the email you sent to the post if you sent one. Bring the originals and a printed copy of each document. If you never submitted them, do it now: upload to CEAC first, then email LNDIVSubmissions@state.gov.
    Email template for the upload notice
  2. Bring the joint sponsor evidence up to date. The newest IRS transcript, recent pay stubs or an employer letter, proof of US citizenship or permanent residence, and proof of US domicile.
  3. Check the I-864 edition. Any new I-864 goes on the 08/24/26 edition. See what the I-864 does and does not settle.
  4. Prepare the beneficiary side. This is the part a 221(g) issued before the pause never asked about. Write the five-factor public charge statement, upload it to CEAC and email it at least five working days before the interview.
    Build your statement
  5. Rehearse aloud, including the joint sponsor questions: why you needed one, how they are related to the petitioner, and whether they have sponsored anyone else. You answer these, not the sponsor.
    Public charge questions as flashcards
  6. Check anything that expires: medical, passport, police certificate.
    Interview date checker
  7. Bring every original. Treat the new date as a full interview, not a document drop.
    Printable interview-day sheet
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Possible outcomes

If the officer is satisfied, your case moves to issuance. If not, the likely result is a new 221(g), probably a public charge one with a document list like the one on the 221(g) page, rather than an outright refusal. The cable requires the officer to write down the specific reason for any new 221(g) and to tell it to you. If a reason is vague, ask what specifically is needed, and note the answer. If you are handed a new green sheet, use the green sheet triage to see what each ticked box needs.

The one-year clock The one-year limit under INA §203(g) runs from the date on your letter. Keep your original sheet and note its date. If you are given a new sheet, note its date too. The date checker counts it down.
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Sources & related pages

  1. Department of State, 22 CFR 42.81(e): reconsideration of a refused immigrant visa case on further evidence within one year.
  2. INA 212(a)(4), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(4): the public charge ground, decided at the time of application.
  3. Department of State, 9 FAM 601.14-7: the sponsor's domicile requirement.
  4. Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. v. Rubio, No. 1:26-cv-00858 (S.D.N.Y.), Opinion and Order (ECF 83), motion to enforce (ECF 86), and status conference of 31 August 2026. See the nationality visa pause, struck down.
  5. Department of State cable 26 STATE 88862, 10 September 2026, filed as ECF 95-1 in Medani v. Trump, No. 5:26-cv-06332 (N.D. Cal.). See both visa pauses vacated.
  6. USCIS, Form I-864, edition 08/24/26.
  7. Related on this site: 221(g) at London · Public charge · Interview stage.

Reviewed 30 September 2026. Moved from the 221(g) page, where it was the section "An open 221(g), now called back to interview".