After H1-B Jolt, More US Visa Chaos Ahead: As Interview Waiver Ends, What Does It Mean For Students?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) After the H1-B visa fee hike another jolt comes for Us nonimmigrant visa and the student visas ! The US State Department is rolling out stricter rules for visa interview waivers, commonly known as the dropbox programme, which is likely to impact international students and professionals heading to America. The new will be effective from October 1, 2025 and will sharply limit who can bypass in-person interviews.

What does the new rule says?

Under the new rules, most nonimmigrant visa applicants - including minors under 18 and seniors over 79 - will now typically need to appear for an in-person interview at the US embassy or consulate.

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The interview waiver will remain available only to a limited group:

• Diplomatic or official visa holders
• Certain government visa categories
• Individuals renewing a B-1, B-2, or H-2A visa within 12 months of the previous visa, in case their previous visa was full-validity and issued after age 18.

To qualify for the waiver, applicants must apply from their home country or place of residence, have no unresolved visa refusals, and meet eligibility requirements. Even then, consular officers may still call them for an in-person interview.

Also Read | H-1B visa fee hike: Who will pay $1,00,000 visa fee, employee or employer? Why it is a challange for student visa holders?

The new rules are expected too make things harder for international students, many of whom rely on faster visa processing to attend US universities. Affected categories include F-1 visa s for academic study, M-1 visas for vocational courses, and J-1 visas for exchange programs as due to delay in the visa approval prcocess could cause them to miss part of their academic sessions.

Who else might be impacted?

Skilled professionals and other workers will also need to adjust, as many had long depended on the dropbox system for smooth renewals of B-1, B-2, and H-2A visas.

What applicants should do now?

From now the applicants need to be more thorough with their applications as new regulations will require more preparation, documentation, and scheduling of appointments for in-person interviews.

Applicants are invited to check U.S. embassy and consulate websites for country-specific information and to plan ahead for possible delays.

Although the dropbox program will still operate in a limited capacity, their will be a massive shift toward in-person interviews.

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