The State Department has decided to waives some visa interviews for different types of immigrant and non-immigrant applicants. This has to do with health related procedures in order to curb the spread of Covid-19, but also has to do with efficiency matters, especially for those who need to receive their visas with a certain time period in order to make it their U.S. universities on time.
In this blog, we will cover different categories of immigrants that might have their visa appointment waived.
Background
The first step to understanding if your visa interview will be waived or not is to check the appropriate U.S. consulate or embassy website, available through the State Department site. For a brief review, go to travel.state.gov, and then select the “U.S. Visas” tab. From here, scroll to the bottom of the page and on the right hand corner you will see a link that says, “Find a U.S. Embassy or Consulate”. Click here.
When you find the associated embassy or consulate that you will applying to, see what kind of visa services they allow and interview for. For example, on almost every page there will be different “Immigrant” and “Nonimmigrant” categories.
Non-Immigrant Visas
The Secretary of State announced in April of 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic that it is possible for those who are renewing a non-immigrant visa to have their visa interview waived. Therefore, no matter where you are applying anywhere in the world, this policy remains a universal. The policy that is currently in place states that, “Consular officers can now waive the in-person interview requirement for people renewing a visa that has expired within the last 48 months.”[1]
To date this policy remains in effect. Although the State Department does not specifically list any of the non-immigrant visas they are discussing in their policy memo, this generally refers to the following:
- Temporary specialized workers and family members (H1-B, H4)
- Exchange visitors and university students
- Diplomats and other representatives working at a U.S. hub
Green Card Applications
In addition to getting J-1 visa holders to the U.S. without needing a visa appointment, there are also certain circumstances where those who are applying for an adjustment of status can have their green card interview waived. This year especially, the rules and regulations have changed due to a new administration and more lax policies in terms of getting individuals approved for permanent residency. The Trump administration generally wanted to interview every single person who was involved with the immigration system, while today there are exceptions to the rule.
For example, you might have your interview waived in the following situations:
- You are a conditional resident who has been approved a two-year green card and you are applying to have the conditions removed on your conditional C4 status. Usually, with proof of a bona fide relationship and the correct supplementary documents (including proof of spousal U.S. citizenship), no green card interview will be required.
- You are an employment based visa holder and are still employed by the petitioner who submitted the approved employment-based visa petition. In general, employment based cases do not necessarily need to have a GC interview.
In general, family based adjustment of statuses are much harder to determine instances of fraud, so green card interviews are less likely to be waived in these circumstances. With employment based, especially for outstanding researchers who already have a continuous offer of employment from an existing petition, these cases will usually have interviews waived—or are at least more likely to have them waived.[2]
