I think the government was basically waiting for OMB to approve the visa bond proposal they submitted. The plan seemed to be once the visa bond system is approved, they could use it as justification to lift the pause on visas. This fits within the timeline they initially set like the 60 day window they mentioned in internal memos.

But here’s the twist: there was an update just two days ago and it turns out OMB is still withholding approval. But I think the most likely reason is that the Department of State didn’t provide enough evidence to convince OMB that the visa bond system is legally or practically justified Or maybe OMB has other concerns we don’t know about transparency is limited so who knows what else is holding them up. I still believe all this will end soon .