Summary
Starting October 1, the U.S. State Department will make changes to its visa interview waiver rules for non-immigrant visas. Children under 14 and adults over 79 will generally need to attend interviews, reversing previous exemptions. This change comes as visa appointment wait times have increased significantly.
Key Facts
- The U.S. State Department is tightening rules for who can skip visa interviews.
- Children under 14 and adults over 79 will mostly need to attend visa interviews now.
- Certain diplomatic and official visa applicants remain exempt from interviews.
- Visa renewals for specific categories have narrow conditions for waivers.
- Even eligible applicants might still need an interview in some cases.
- Wait times for visitor visa interviews rose by 69% from January to August.
- Interviews for student visas increased by over 250% in the same period.
- The changes aim for stricter security checks but could cause longer wait times.
