US Tightens Visa Rules: No More Quick Appointments Abroad For Indians

The US Department of State has issued a directive - effective immediately - requiring non-immigrant visa (NIV) applicants, including Indians, to set up their interview appointments exclusively in their country of citizenship or legal residence. The step aims to eliminate the previously employed workaround of applying from nearby countries with shorter wait times.

The new visa rules will be implemented globally, according to a statement released by the US State Department on Saturday.

"Effective immediately, the Department of State has updated instructions for non-immigrant visa applicants... (they) should schedule visa interview appointments at the US embassy or consulate in their country of nationality or residence," the statement said.

Who Will Be Affected?

The action will have a direct impact on Indians who have applied for interview seats in Singapore, Thailand, and Germany in recent years to avoid domestic backlogs. This means that Indians who need to travel to the US quickly will not be able to schedule a B1 (business) or B2 (tourism) appointment overseas.

That option is no longer available under the new policy, except for a few exceptional circumstances in which the United States does not regularly conduct NIV operations.

Nationals of countries where the US government does not conduct routine non-immigrant visa operations can apply at the designated embassy or consulate, unless their residence is elsewhere, it said. This category includes nationals or residents of countries such as Afghanistan, Cuba, Chad, Russia, and Iran, among several others.

How Will It Impact Indians

According to industry watchers, this restriction may worsen the already growing backlog. Visa wait times earlier this year varied from 3.5 months in Hyderabad and Mumbai to 5 months in Kolkata, and in Chennai, they reached an astounding nine months.

The Old Rule

In the past, tourists arranged interviews overseas, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a backlog of applications caused wait periods to reach three years at home.

When travel resumed after the pandemic in 2021, travel agents recalled how Indians used to go to other countries, such as Germany, for B1/B2 visa interviews. Given that the interview wait time for B1/B2 visas in India at the time was 15-20 months, the US embassy in Frankfurt reserved NIV interview appointments "specifically for Indian applicants" two years ago.

On September 2, a new rule, making it mandatory for all non-immigrant visa applicants to go through in-person interviews, also came into effect after the US Department of State scaled back the Interview Waiver Program (Dropbox).

This means the majority of applicants will now have to show up at a US Embassy or Consulate, previously exempt from in-person interviews. The affected visas include H, L, F, M, J, E, and O categories, even for individuals over 79 and children under 14.