The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently delivered a one-two punch to nonimmigrant visa processing: (1) as of September 2, 2025, the “interview waiver” (or “dropbox processing”) option for nonimmigrant visas has essentially been phased out, requiring nearly all applicants to attend an in person interview; and (2) effective September 6, 2025, all nonimmigrant visa applicants are now required to schedule their consular interview in their country of nationality or residence — with only narrow exceptions. These developments signal a marked shift toward procedural rigidity, uniformity and heightened vetting, and, collectively, will have a major impact on the ability of visa applicants to quickly obtain a nonimmigrant visa for travel to the United States.
In the first domino to fall in this sequence, on July 25, the DOS announced a sweeping rollback: effective September 2, virtually every nonimmigrant visa applicant — including children under 14 and seniors over 79 — is now required to attend an in-person interview. Prior to this, waivers of the interview requirement (often referred to as “dropbox processing”) had become more prevalent, starting during the COVID pandemic and for years afterwards. This allowed many visa applicants, particularly those previously issued a nonimmigrant visa in any classification within a certain number of years – and thus who had already been vetted and screened by the DOS – to apply for and obtain new visas, or renew existing visas, via mail, thus avoiding the need to appear in person at an interview/appointment with a U.S. embassy abroad. Particularly in consular posts with a high volume of visa applicants, interview waivers often saved significant time and hassle.
But with the pullback on interview waivers, nearly all visa applicants will now return to scheduling in-person appointments for a visa. Waivers will remain only for:
- Diplomatic/official categories
- B 1/B 2 visa or Border Crossing Card renewals within 12 months, where the applicant was at least 18 at time of prior issuance, applied in-country, and had no prior refusals or apparent ineligibility
Common visa types, including H 1B, L 1, F 1, J 1, O 1, and their dependents, have lost eligibility for interview waivers and are now uniformly subject to interviews. It is widely expected that wait times and processing delays will increase significantly with this policy change.
More recently, the DOS announced that not only have interview waivers essentially been eliminated, but nearly all nonimmigrant visa applicants now must schedule their appointment and appear at an interview at a U.S. consulate or embassy in their country of nationality or (permanent) residence. This serves to deter “consular shopping” — where applicants seek more favorable wait times or perceived leniency at consular posts outside of their home country. Due to enormous fluctuations in appointment availability at consular posts, visa applicants traditionally would often seek appointments in a country other than their home country, where visa appointments may be more readily available. This was particularly common, for example, for Indian or Chinese nationals subject to lengthy wait times for available appointments at the U.S. consular posts in their home country; such individuals would frequently seek to apply for visas as “third country nationals” at U.S. embassies in Canada, or the Caribbean nations, for example, rather than return to India or China to obtain a new visa.
Combined, these actions by the DOS will have a major impact on visa processing. Both individuals and employers should be prepared for longer wait times, additional processing and possible delays in visa issuance/appointment availability. Those who anticipate needing to travel internationally and obtain or renew a nonimmigrant visa should plan early, far in advance of their travel if possible, and, in some cases, forego or postpone international travel where possible.
With these twin policy shifts, the Department of State has completed a comprehensive rollback of flexible visa processing options. Interview waivers have been largely eliminated, and applicants are now firmly bound to their country of nationality or residence for processing. Applicants and institutions/employers must adapt quickly and emphasize advance planning.
