Yes, but that doesn't necessarily matter. In the CARB states, in particular, there are few or no emissions inspections. You can register a car if it is CARB certified. If the CARB certification is updated to require recall work, you won't be able to renew your registration until that recall work is done (and you or the car company provide appropriate paperwork to the appropriate agency).
Those states are: Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, and District of Columbia
They vary in their exact implementations, but in general, there are no emissions tests or an emissions test that consists of plugging in to the OBD-II port and making sure the equipment is all there (which passes on today's unrepaired cars).
Granted, there's already a crowd of VW enthusiasts that are prepared to re-flash their ECUs after getting the recall if it turns out that the "fix" removes everything they love about their cars, but that's a separate problem (and a political/ethical/philosophical debate that's probably not worth arguing about because no one is going to change their mind).
Also, hello, I was a lurker on this forum a few months ago as I wanted to buy a car because I was graduating from college, moving from Texas to Washington, and starting my first job. Spent a long time debating between the CX-5, Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI, and a few others. I test drove a 2015 CX-5 and liked it, but I wasn't convinced I wanted/needed an SUV. Ended up getting a good deal on a used Sportwagen TDI with the intent that if I did end up wanting an SUV, it wouldn't be hard to sell a used TDI (particularly because it was from Texas and had never seen snow/salt). Suddenly that plan doesn't seem as solid as it used to.
