The US Department of State has released a new policy, from today, that mandates all applicants for non-immigrant visas—Indian citizens included—to book their interview appointments exclusively in their country of residence or citizenship.
The reason behind the move is to put an end to the tendency of seeking application from the neighboring countries that provided faster waiting periods.
The new rules will be enforced globally, as per a release issued by the US State Department on Saturday.
"Immediate effect, the Department of State has revised procedures for non-immigrant visa applicants. (they) should make visa interview appointments at the US consulate or embassy in their country of residence or nationality," the release stated.
This transition directly affects Indians who once made visa appointments in nations like Singapore, Thailand, and Germany to avoid local backlogs. Due to this shift, Indian applicants traveling to the US on a B1 (business) or B2 (tourist) visa can no longer make interviews abroad under the new order.
Exceptions are permitted only in exceptional circumstances where routine NIV activities are not carried out by the US. Citizens of countries with no routine non-immigrant visa services—Afghanistan, Cuba, Chad, Russia, and Iran—are still eligible to apply at certain US embassies or consulates unless they have a different legal residence.
Industry experts caution that this step has the potential to heighten the already mounting visa backlog. Wait times as recent as this year were as little as 3.5 months in Hyderabad and Mumbai and five months in Kolkata, while wait times reached as high as nine months in Chennai.
Previously, Indian travelers often scheduled interviews overseas, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when domestic backlogs caused wait times to soar to three years. After travel resumed in 2021, many Indians opted to appear for B1/B2 visa interviews in countries like Germany. At the time, India’s B1/B2 visa interviews had wait periods of 15–20 months, prompting the US embassy in Frankfurt to reserve NIV interview slots specifically for Indian applicants.
Another change independently went into effect on September 2, requiring in-person interviews for all non-immigrant visa applicants following the US's reduction of its Interview Waiver Program (Dropbox). Under this policy, most applicants—such as those for H, L, F, M, J, E, and O visas—now have to come in person to a US embassy or consulate, even those 79 years and older and children under 14 who used to be exempt.
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