Business Immigration Insights

In March 2021, during the COVID pandemic, the Department of State implemented an expansion of the categories of visa applicants eligible for visa issuance without in-person interviews.  The new policy allowed applicants applying to renew visas in certain nonimmigrant categories to do so without requiring interviews with a consular officer if the visas had expired within the previous 48 months.  These categories included tourist and business visas as well as student and exchange visas and employment related nonimmigrant visas.  As a consequence of this policy, visa wait times around the world dropped significantly and in 2024 40% of the nonimmigrant visas issued by U.S. consular sections around the world were issued without interview.

On July 25, the Department announced a significant scaling back of its interview waiver policy.  Effective September 2, 2025, applicants seeking to renew student, exchange, and employment related non-immigrant visas must apply in person and be interviewed by a consular officer in order to have their visas reissued.  Under the new policy, tourist and business visa holders can still take advantage of the interview waiver and have their visas renewed without interview, but only if those visas were issued within the last 12 months, rather than the last 48 months.  In addition, such applicants must be applying in their country of nationality or overseas residence, have never been refused a visa, and have no apparent or potential ineligibility. 

In a further policy shift, the Department will no longer adjudicate visas for children under the age of 14 and adults over the age of 79 without requiring an in-person interview. Instead, on September 2, 2025, these applicants will also be required to attend in-person visa interviews. 

Applicants applying for A visas as diplomatic personnel, G visas as accredited international officials, NATO officials, or official employees of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representation Office in the United States (TECHRO E-1) may still apply to receive or renew their visas without personal interviews.  However, domestic and personal employees of accredited officials who require A-3 and G-5 visas may not receive or renew those visas without a personal interview with a consular officer. 

The immediate impact of the Department’s new policy will be to increase significantly the wait times for visa appointments in virtually all nonimmigrant visa categories.  Applicants already in the United States who need to renew existing employment based non-immigrant visa categories may experience considerable difficulty finding timely appointments for themselves and their family members to coincide with travel and vacation plans as wait times for appointments lengthen.  Procedures for requesting expedited or emergency appointments remain in place, but increased demand is likely to compel consular officers to turn down many of these requests and restrict them only to cases of genuine emergency need, which may not include pressing business necessity.  For both employers and employees alike, the new policy requires careful planning when considering vacation and business travel outside the United States.  Applicants whose visas need to be renewed should make certain their travels coincide with confirmed visa appointments; otherwise, they and their family members could be stranded outside the United States until they are able to attend in-person visa interviews.