By Brian Taylor Goldstein
Happy New Year! Let’s hope the 2021 we wanted finally comes in 2022,
Perhaps you were as surprised as I to wake up Christmas morning to discover that the U.S. Department of State had left an actual gift in our stockings. Not too much, and not too expensive, but it’s the thought that counts.
In order to address the ongoing delays and backlogs in obtaining visa application appointments at U.S. Consulates, the Department of State announced on December 23, 2021 that it was expanding its policy of permitting U.S. Consulates to waive in-person appointments/interviews for visa applications and allowing applicants to apply for visas merely by mailing in the passport and with no in-person appointment/interview required. A such, effective immediately:
- Anyone needing to apply for an O or P visa who has ever been issued a U.S. visa in any visa category (B, F, O, P, J, etc) at any time in the past is now eligible for an in-person appointment/interview waiver.
- Anyone needing to apply for an O or P visa who has never been approved for a U.S. visa before is also now eligible for an in-person appointment/interview waiver provided:
(1) They are a citizen of a country that participates in the US. Visa Waiver Programme (VWP); and
(2) They have previously traveled to the U.S. at least once before under ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization).
- Anyone needing to apply for an O or P visa who has previously been issued an O or P visa within the last 48 months of the prior visa’s expiration date is also eligible for an in-person appointment/interview waiver.
There are two important additional requirements:
(1) The visa applicant’s O or P petition must be approved by USCIS by the time they submit their passport to the consulate; and
(2) The visa application must be submitted at the U.S. Consulate located in the country of which they are a citizen or permanent resident. It is still possible to apply for a visa any ANY U.S. Consulate in the world. However, you will not be eligible for an in-person appointment/interview waiver unless you apply at the U.S. Consulate located in the country where you are a citizen or permanent resident.
As always, U.S. Consulates set their own procedures and policies with regard to how they implement directives from the Department of State. So, the process for requesting an in-person appointment/interview waiver will vary from consulate to consulate, even with regard to consulates within the same country. However, in general, to apply for a visa and request an in-person appointment/interview waiver, the applicant should:
(1) Go to the website of the U.S. Consulate located in the country of which they are a citizen or permanent resident to check for updates and specific policies.
(2) Complete a DS-160 and pay the application fee.
(3) Follow the instructions for requesting an in-person appointment/interview waiver.
Whether or not an in-person appointment/interview waiver will be granted will continue to remain at the discretion of the U.S. Consulate. In general, any applicant who has ever been refused a visa in the past will not qualify, unless that refusal was overcome or waived, and there can be no apparent or potential ineligibilities. Also, due to ongoing staff shortages U.S. Consulates around the world as a result of COVID and the insidiously prolific variations of its mephistophelian offspring, some U.S. Consulates may limit the visa categories eligible for in-person appointment/ interview waivers as well as limit the number of total waivers they are able to process in all categories any given time
For those interested in reading the actual U.S. State Department announcement, click here on the helpful government information specialist:
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