United States: State Department Extends Nonimmigrant Visa Interview Waiver Program Through 2023

Under the program extension, U.S. consular officers are authorized through December 31, 2023 to waive the in-person interview requirement for certain individual petition-based H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P, and Q visa applicants, and F, M, and academic J visa applicants. The following criteria apply to these visa types in order to qualify for an interview waiver:

• Foreign nationals must apply in their country of nationality or residence; and
• Foreign nationals must meet all of the criteria in one of the following two categories:
  • Previously issued any type of visa. Applicants who were previously issued any type of visa may qualify if:
    • They have never been refused a visa, unless such refusal was overcome or waived; and
    • They have no apparent ineligibility or potential ineligibility to obtaining a visa.

• • First-time applicants.First time applicants who are citizens or nationals of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), provided they:
    • Have no apparent ineligibility or potential ineligibility to obtaining a visa; and
    • Have previously traveled to the United States under the VWP using ESTA.

Previous authority for the interview waiver of certain H-2 workers has also been extended to December 31, 2023.

In addition, consular officers remain authorized to waive the in-person interview requirement for individuals applying for any type of nonimmigrant visa in the same classification, whose visa expired within 48 months. This authority is available to consulates on an indefinite basis. Under the standard pre-COVID program, only applicants renewing nonimmigrant visas that expired within the past 12 months were eligible for an interview waiver.

In all cases, even if a consular post implements the interview waiver program and an applicant meets the above requirements, consular officers may deem it necessary to refer the applicant for an interview after reviewing the visa application. For this reason, foreign nationals should build flexibility into their visa application plans.

Because U.S. consulates are not required to implement the new interview waiver policies, actual implementation of the program will depend on each local consulate. Applicants are encouraged to review the website of the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate for detailed information on currently available services, as well as eligibility information and instructions on applying for a visa without an interview.

Fragomen continues to closely monitor consular and travel-related developments and will issue follow-up alerts as appropriate.