United States | Visa interview waiver eligibility criteria updated for visa applicants in India

The U.S. Mission to India updated its interview waiver eligibility criteria for Indian foreign nationals renewing visas at U.S. consular posts in India.

Key Points:

• The eligibility criteria for interview waiver was updated to require that visa applicants have a previous U.S. visa in the same class as the visa for which the applicant wishes to apply and the applicant’s prior visa is still valid or expired within the last 12 months.
• Previously, applicants’ prior visas could expire up to 48 months. Applicants also previously could qualify for interview waiver if they had been issued another nonimmigrant visa other than a B-1/B-2 visa (e.g., an individual who had been issued an F-1 visa which had not expired more than 48 months could qualify for interview waiver when applying for an H-1B visa).
• The full interview waiver criteria can be found here.

Additional Information: Applicants can submit a visa application and documentation for interview waiver processing at Visa Application Centers in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and other locations that can be found here.

Individuals who have applied for visas and who have appointments to drop off their documentation for interview waiver processing may no longer qualify for an interview waiver. Foreign nationals are reminded to speak with their BAL team prior to international travel and to be aware of general travel requirements, including maintaining a valid visa in their passport.

Other U.S. embassies and consulates that may have updated their interview waiver eligibility criteria include but are not limited to Mexico, France and Japan. All Visa renewal applicants should check interview waiver criteria on their respective U.S. embassy or consulate’s website to confirm.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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