Interviews to be Required for Almost all Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants

Confirming what has long been rumored, the State Department issued a cable officially on May 21, 2003 amending the regulations regarding visa issuance to severely curtail the discretionary issuance of visas without a personal interview. In the past, the regulations granted consular officers discretionary power to waive the requirement for an interview for nonimmigrant visa applicants. The change in the regulations curtails this discretion and allows for a waiver of an interview only for individuals who fall into certain categories outlined in the regulations. The cable directs posts to implement these new regulations as soon as possible but no later than August 1, 2003.

According to the new regulations, an interview can be waived by a consular officer only for individuals who they decide is not a national security risk and if the individual is:

1. a child 16 years of age or under; or
2. is an individual 60 years or older; or
3. qualifies for a N-1, N-2, C-2, C-3, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6 status and who is seeking such a visa in that status;
4. is an applicant for a diplomatic or official visa; or
5. is an applicant whose previous visa expired within the past 12 months and is applying for a new visa in the same classification at the consular post of their usual residence and for who the officer has no indication of visa ineligibility or noncompliance with US immigration laws and regulations; or
6. is an alien for whom a waiver of the personal interview is warranted in the national interest or because of unusual circumstances such as a medical condition that prevents a personal appearance.

The regulation notes that even if an individual falls into one of the above categories, a consular officer can still require an interview. However, the regulation does allow the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services to authorize the waiver of an interview of additional applicants or classes of applicants if such a waiver is deemed in the national interest or if unusual circumstances exist. Posts can request that particular classes of applicants be authorized for a waiver in some cases such as situations involving natural disasters or political turmoil which would limit posts ability to interview applicants personally. In these requests, the posts must explain how exempting an additional class would be in the US national interest and not negatively impact national security in order to receive approval.

It is estimated that this regulation will result in approximately 90% of nonimmigrant visa applicants being required to appear for a personal interview. The implementation of this regulation is expected to create backlogs in visa processing overall at U.S. Embassies and Consulates as posts work to implement new systems to allow them to interview visa applicants. Individuals how are planning on traveling and will need to apply for a visa to reenter the U.S. should factor this into their travel plans and should allow for extra processing time for their visa applications. Moreover, this change in regulation will result in the Embassies and Consulates increasing their workload but it is not anticipated that they will be given any additional funding to cover this increase. As a result of this change, it is likely that posts will not allow third country nationals to process visas at consulates except in very limited circumstances as the consulates will give priority to processing their own citizens.

With these new regulation in place, individuals who qualify for visa revalidation through the State Department in the U.S. may want to seriously consider utilizing this option. Visa revalidation is available to Individuals who hold E, H, I, L, O and P status and visas and are applying for a new visa in the same category they hold. For applicants who qualify for visa revalidation, they may only apply for revalidation of their visa within sixty days of the expiration date of their current visas or within one year after their expiration date. Finally, the applicant’s nationality must be the same as they held when they received their original visa.

However, please note that the State Department will not revalidate visas for any nationals of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria, which are the seven countries currently identified as state sponsors of terrorism. Nationals of these seven countries must apply for their visas at a U.S. Embassy or consular post abroad.

While visa revalidation may be an option, it is important to note that it is currently taking ten to twelve weeks for the State Department to process revalidation applications. As such, applying for revalidation requires advance planning for travel purposes. In addition, with the new requirement for interviews for almost all nonimmigrant visa applicants, there is a possibility the processing times for revalidation will also increase as more individuals decide to renew their visas in the U.S.

For individuals who are planning on traveling, they may want to consider contacting an immigration attorney to discuss how these developments may affect their travel plans and decide on the best strategy to obtaining a new visa.

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