Late last year, Dustin Hoffman and his wife Gloria started the paperwork to secure a visa for her to live in the U.S.
The couple, along with their 5-year-old daughter Chaya and Hoffman's 12-year-old step son Israel, lived together in Argentina, where Hoffman had moved in 2013 after doing a deployment with the U.S. Army in Iraq.
"My daughter is growing up and she's very smart and my stepson he's very smart," Hoffman said. "But the resources in Argentina for an autistic child and the school system in Argentina … I don't know. I just feel like I needed to give my daughter the same opportunities that I had growing up."
But nearly a year later, the kids and Gloria are stuck in Argentina in bureaucratic limbo due to continuing delays in the processing of their visa.
That's because this January the Trump administration banned the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries. Many of the migrants were already in the process of getting a visa. Some already had the visa approved; they were just waiting to get the physical visa delivered to them.
Hoffman's wife is from Colombia, one of the countries on the list.
A federal judge this August ordered the ban to be lifted, but Hoffman's family still has not gotten their visa, and the State Department continues to ask them to provide additional evidence to prove they have the financial means to live in the U.S. without becoming a public charge.
Attorneys representing migrants say the Hoffman family's case is emblematic of a wider problem: They say the Trump administration is not complying with the federal court order and is instead slow-walking the processing of the visas.
"So while technically the ban doesn't exist, it doesn't matter practically if people are still not being able to get their green card interviews or have their interviews not be finished and not get their immigrant visa stamps foils and be able to come into the United States," said Alexis Axelrad, the president elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
A new training creates additional delays
The visa ban affected more than 280,000 immigrants who had applied for visas by the time the policy went into effect in January.
According to an analysis by the libertarian think-tank Cato Institute, the ban targeted thousands of close family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, including spouses and minor children. The Cato report called it "one of the most extreme legal immigration policies in U.S. history."
Now stuck in their countries unable to come to the U.S., many are rethinking what to do.
The State Department declined to comment for this story, telling NPR "the matter referenced is subject to pending litigation." On its website, the State Department acknowledges the visa ban is no longer in effect due to the court ruling.
The agency told NPR in August it had paused the processing of visas as it launched an in-depth "training program" for embassies and consulates on identifying immigrants who could become a burden on taxpayers — a public charge.
This means even immigrants with visas approved would have to go through additional screening.
This pause is uncommon, a former State Department consular officer told NPR. She asked not to be identified because she fears it could affect her job prospects.
"I've never seen a substantial pause on visa processing … I really haven't," the former consular officer said. "The department is doing this because this is what the policy is from the president … to reduce illegal immigration, remigrate people and only accept refugees from South Africa."
But families such as the Hoffmans are stuck in limbo. He says he misses his daughter, stepson, and wife every day. He said his daughter cries "all the time" and asks for her father. His wife is overwhelmed.
"Let me put it this way: Our family is a family. We need to be there for each other," Hoffman said. "Just like any family, it's not functioning very well while we're separated."
The brightest is left behind
During his first term, President Trump said he wanted to attract the brightest immigrants to come to the U.S.
Right-wing organizations, including the America First Policy Institute, have also endorsed a "merit-based" immigration system.
"America's immigration system should prioritize immigrants with education, skills, and well-paying jobs waiting for them in the U.S. because these individuals are most likely to contribute to America's society and economy, benefitting all Americans," the organization wrote in March 2026.
But the battle over visa processing has affected many immigrants who fall into the high-performing category.
One of them is Dr. Fernando Lizcano, a Colombian national whose research focuses on major cardiovascular health challenges in the U.S., including obesity.
He applied for an EB-1A visa, which is reserved for immigrants "of extraordinary ability," including "an outstanding professor or researcher," according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"My intention is to continue with my academic biomedical research in the United States," Lizcano told NPR from his office in Bogotá. "(I) have been exploring opportunities also where I could combine all my experience in endocrinology with molecular biology, translational research."
Because USCIS deemed him qualified for an EB-1A, all that was left for him was to apply for the visa itself and get it stamped in his passport.
But he is still in Colombia, awaiting for the State Department's final approval.
"This is not fair," Lizcano said.
The waiting game is taking an emotional toll on many of the immigrants — and their loved ones — whose visas are now up in the air.
Hoffman, the U.S. veteran awaiting his wife's visa to be approved, is worried about his own mental health. He told NPR his doctors have increased his psychiatric medicines.
"I was OK before all this started happening," he said.
He works as an Uber driver, and with Trump's war in Iran, gas prices have skyrocketed, cutting into his income.
He's struggling to pay both his mortgage in the U.S., and rent in Argentina for his family.
"We're living on a dream and a prayer right now," Hoffman said.
Copyright 2026 NPR
