Visa Interview Waiver Program: 2025 Status

The U.S. Department of State has again updated the eligibility criteria for nonimmigrant visa interview waivers

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By Amy Tran, Immigration Paralegal

October 2025

The U.S. Department of State’s updated eligibility criteria for nonimmigrant visa interview waivers, often referred to as “dropbox” processing, went into effect on October 1, 2025. Under this new policy, nearly all nonimmigrant visa applications, including applications for minors under fourteen and adults over the age of seventy-nine, will require an in-person interview with a consular officer. This update is a follow up to the restrictions introduced earlier this year in February of 2025, which already narrowed the interview waiver program by limiting it to renewals in the same visa category within 12 months of expiration.

Who Still Qualifies for an Interview Waiver?

The following categories of applicants will continue to be eligible for a visa waiver interview:

  • Applicants classifiable under the visa symbols A-1, A-2, C-3 (except attendants, servants, or personal employees of accredited officials), G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-6, or TECRO E-1;
  • Applicants for diplomatic- or official-type visas;
  • Applicants renewing a B-1, B-2, B1/B2 visa or Border Crossing Card/Foil (BBBCC/BBBCV for Mexican applicants) within 12 months of the prior visa’s expiration when the prior visa was issued for full validity at the time of issuance and the applicant was at least 18 years old;
  • Applicants renewing an H-2A visa within 12 months of the prior visa’s expiration when the prior visa was issued for full validity at the time of issuance and the applicant was at least 18 years old.

In addition, the above applicants must also meet certain criteria, including that they:

  • apply in their country of nationality or usual residence (except diplomatic and certain official visa applicants);
  • have never been refused a visa (unless such refusal was overcome or waived); and
  • have no apparent or potential ineligibility.

Stricter Guidance for Nationals and Citizens of Certain Countries

For nationals and citizens of the following countries, all nonimmigrant visa applicants must attend in-person interviews, effective immediately, and without the exceptions listed above:

  • Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Cote D’Ivoire, Cuba, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

How does this policy change impact visa appointment wait times?

This widespread elimination of the expanded interview waiver program, coupled with a reduced workforce at the Department of State and a concentrated resource focus on enhanced vetting procedures will result in reduced resource capacity at consular posts worldwide. Foreign nationals should expect longer wait times for scheduling a visa appointment as a result. Impacted visa applicants should prepare for these longer processing times and limited appointment availability by planning international travel and time expected to be outside of the United States accordingly.

For more information, please contact your Parker Gallini immigration attorney.