Effective as of September 6, all nonimmigrant US visa applicants including international students must schedule interviews at their local US embassy or consulate, or face an increased risk of rejection, the State Department has announced.
“Applicants who scheduled nonimmigrant interviews at a US embassy or consulate outside of their country of nationality or residence might find that it will be more difficult to qualify for the visa,” the department warned.
Fees paid for such applications will not be refunded and cannot be transferred, said the department, adding that applicants would have to demonstrate residence in the country where they are applying.
The directive puts an end to a pandemic-era practice of students bypassing long wait times at home by scheduling visa appointments from a third country.
Stakeholders have raised concerns that the new rule could exacerbate wait times and disadvantage students whose local embassies are plagued by delays.
According to State Department data updated last month, individuals applying for student and exchange visitor visas at the US embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, currently must wait 14-months before obtaining an interview.
Meanwhile, the next available F, M, and J visa appointments at consulates in Accra, Ghana and Karachi, Pakistan, are not for another 11 and 10.5 months respectively.
A State Department spokesperson told The PIE that the scheduling of visa appointments was “dynamic”. “Each embassy or consulate’s capacity reflects the time required for consular officers to adjudicate the cases before them in full compliance with US law, including to ensure applicants do not pose a security or safety risk to the United States,” they added.
Applicants who scheduled nonimmigrant interviews at a US embassy or consulate outside of their country of nationality or residence might find that it will be more difficult to qualify for the visa
US State Department
The new rule comes after a near month-long pause on new student visa interviews this summer saw major delays and cancelled appointments at embassies across the globe, preventing some international students from enrolling at US colleges this semester.
Enhanced social media vetting for all student visa applications is also believed to be contributing to the delays.
Existing nonimmigrant visa appointments “will generally not be cancelled,” said the department, adding that: “Rare exceptions may also be made for humanitarian or medical emergencies or foreign policy reasons.”
A spokesperson for the department told The PIE that the update was another way the government was implementing Trump’s Executive Order: “protecting the united States from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats,” by conducting “maximum screening and vetting of all visa applicants.”
“When visa applicants apply in their country of residence or nationality, interviewing officers with localised expertise and knowledge can appropriately evaluate their qualifications,” they added.
Nationals of countries where the US is not conducting routine visa operations have been instructed to apply at the following designated alternatives:
| National of: | Designated location (s): |
| Afghanistan | Islamabad |
| Belarus | Vilnius, Warsaw |
| Chad | Yaoundé |
| Cuba | Georgetown |
| Haiti | Nassau |
| Iran | Dubai |
| Libya | Tunis |
| Niger | Ouagadougou |
| Russia | Astana, Warsaw |
| Somalia | Nairobi |
| South Sudan | Nairobi |
| Sudan | Cairo |
| Syria | Amman |
| Ukraine | Krakow, Warsaw |
| Venezuela | Bogota |
| Yemen | Riyadh |
| Zimbabwe | Johannesburg |
