Clarifying B1/B2 visa application status amidst recent immigrant visa policy changes

Has anyone within the international tech or business community successfully navigated the B1/B2 application process recently, specifically in light of the new “Immigrant Visa Updates”?

  • Availability: Do the appointment slots actually exist, or are the “updates” effectively freezing the calendar for everyone?
  • Restrictions: Is there any spillover friction where they are finding reasons to reject non-immigrant intent because of the broader immigrant visa crackdown?

Would love to hear real experiences—specifically if you’ve secured a stamp this month—before I invest time in the application. Specs matter, and I don’t want to debug a broken process.

Realizing this confusion often comes from the headline phrasing, but the regulatory scope is quite distinct.

Has anyone from the North African region tested this distinction though?

yes people are still getting B1/B2 approvals recently, even after the “Immigrant Visa Updates.”

Appointments: Slots do exist, but availability is very post-specific. Some locations are slow or look frozen for weeks, others release batches unpredictably. It’s frustrating, but not a full freeze.

Scrutiny: There is slightly tighter questioning around non-immigrant intent, but I wouldn’t call it a crackdown. Strong travel history, clear business/tourism purpose, and ties outside the U.S. are still getting stamped without drama. I haven’t seen a spike in arbitrary denials just because of the updates.

Bottom line: the process isn’t broken — just slower and less forgiving of weak narratives. If your profile is clean and consistent, it’s still very doable.