US spouse visa for Haitian nationals
Current status: spouse visas are suspended
Haiti is on the full suspension list of the presidential proclamation that took effect on 1 January 2026. Nationals of Haiti are currently suspended from entering the United States as immigrants and as nonimmigrants, and the categorical exception that previously protected immediate family immigrant visas, including the CR-1 and IR-1 spouse visas, was removed on the same date.
The practical position is that a Haitian spouse of a United States citizen cannot currently be issued an immigrant visa, however genuine the marriage and however complete the paperwork.
There is a second obstacle running alongside it. The US Embassy in Port-au-Prince has paused visa services because of the security situation, and Haitian immigrant visa cases have been handled through the US Embassy in Nassau, the Bahamas.
This page explains what that means in practice, what is still worth doing, and what would need to change.
What the suspension does and does not do
The proclamation restricts the issuing of visas and entry to the United States. It does not invalidate your marriage, and it does not cancel a family petition that has already been approved.
You can still marry, and your spouse can still file the petition. What cannot currently happen is the final step, the issuing of the immigrant visa at the consulate.
Applications already at the National Visa Center can generally still be filed and documents can still be submitted, but the case is then paused rather than approved.
Who is not affected
The suspension applies to people who were outside the United States without a valid visa on the effective date. Several groups fall outside it:
Anyone who already held a valid US visa issued before the effective date. Those visas were not revoked.
Lawful permanent residents of the United States.
Dual nationals travelling on a passport from a country that is not on the suspension lists. A Haitian citizen who also holds, for example, a Canadian or French passport should look closely at this, because it is the most commonly overlooked route out of the suspension.
People already admitted to the United States as refugees or granted asylum.
Anyone granted a case by case national interest exception.
Where Haitian cases are processed
With Port-au-Prince paused, immigrant visa processing for Haitian applicants has been handled through the US Embassy in Nassau. Interview locations for Haitian cases have moved before, so the appointment letter from the National Visa Center is the only reliable authority on where your case will be heard.
Note also that since November 2025 the State Department has required applicants to interview in their country of residence or nationality, with transfers managed centrally. That has narrowed the ability to pick a convenient third country post.
Should you still file
For most couples, yes, provided the expectations are clear.
The petition stage takes many months regardless of the suspension, and a case that is approved and documentarily qualified is in a far stronger position on the day restrictions change than one that has not been started. Proclamations of this kind have been amended, narrowed and litigated before.
What filing will not do is produce a visa while the suspension is in force. Do not sell property, resign from a job or make any other irreversible commitment on the assumption that it will.
The national interest exception
The proclamation allows a case by case exception where entry is judged to serve the national interest of the United States. There is no published checklist and no guarantee. Requests are made through the post handling the case and are strongest where there are compelling, well evidenced circumstances such as serious medical need or the separation of a family with US citizen children.
This is the point at which most Haitian families should take advice from an immigration lawyer rather than proceeding alone.
What to prepare now
If the suspension lifts, the case will move on the documents you already hold, so it is worth assembling them and keeping them current.
Marriage and birth records come from the officier de l’état civil where the event was registered, with extracts from the Archives Nationales. Because Haitian civil records are frequently incomplete, late registered or damaged, this is the part of the file that most often causes delay, and it is worth resolving now rather than under time pressure later.
A police certificate is issued by the Haitian police authority. Certificates have a limited validity, so this one is better requested when a case is actually moving.
Keep building relationship evidence throughout: photographs across visits, travel records, message and call histories, remittance receipts, and evidence of contact with each other’s families. Evidence created as the relationship goes along is always stronger than evidence assembled afterwards.
What would need to change
Two things, and they are independent of each other. The suspension would need to be lifted or narrowed so that immediate relative immigrant visas are exempt again, and consular capacity for Haitian applicants would need to be sufficient to schedule interviews.
Restrictions of this kind are reviewed periodically. Watch the State Department visa news page rather than relying on second hand accounts, because the lists have changed several times.
FAQs
My husband already has a valid immigrant visa. Can he still travel?
Yes. Visas issued before the effective date were not revoked. He should travel before it expires.
I am Haitian but I also hold a Canadian passport. Does the ban apply to me?
If you travel on the passport of a country that is not on either suspension list, you fall outside the ban. Take advice on how to present this, but it is a genuine and frequently missed exception.
Can we still get married and file the I-130?
Yes. The proclamation restricts the issuing of visas, not marriage and not the filing of a petition.
Will my interview still happen?
An interview may still be scheduled, but the application is paused afterwards rather than approved.
How long will this last?
There is no fixed end date. The lists have been amended before and may be again.
Is there another route to be together in the meantime?
Options are limited, since visitor visas are also suspended for Haitian nationals. Some families look at meeting in a third country while the case is pending. Take advice before assuming any alternative route is open.