Starting September 2, 2025, the United States will significantly tighten its rules for non-immigrant visa applications, a move that will affect thousands of Indian applicants, particularly first-timers and those seeking renewals. The US Department of State has announced that eligibility for in-person interview waivers will be drastically scaled back, meaning more applicants will now be required to physically appear before a consular officer.
This marks the second update to the guidelines in 2025. Earlier in February, the rules had allowed consular officers to waive in-person interviews for travellers renewing a visa in the same category if it had expired less than 12 months earlier. That flexibility will no longer apply from September, as the US shifts toward stricter screening.
Who Will Still Qualify For Waivers
The new policy retains interview waivers for a narrow list of categories:
Applicants under visa symbols A-1, A-2, C-3, G-1 through G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-6, or TECRO E-1—primarily foreign government officials, diplomats, staff of international organisations, NATO affiliates, and certain Taiwanese representatives and their families.
Applicants for diplomatic or official-type visas.
Renewals of a full-validity B-1, B-2, or B1/B2 visa (or Border Crossing Card for eligible Mexican nationals) for short-term business, tourism, or medical visits.
For most other categories, including popular work visas like the H-1B, applicants will now have to attend an in-person interview regardless of prior travel history or past US visas.
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Impact On Indian Applicants
This change is expected to particularly affect India, which already faces significant visa appointment backlogs. Many Indian professionals, especially those in the tech industry, apply for H-1B visas or seek renewals while continuing employment in the US. The requirement for physical interviews will likely lengthen processing times and travel schedules, as well as create fresh appointment bottlenecks.
In recent weeks, several Dropbox (interview waiver) appointment slots for August and September have already been suspended, signalling the policy’s early effects. The move will also increase costs and logistical burdens for applicants who now must travel to US consulates in India, often located far from their home cities.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also updated its interpretation of visa “availability” under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), a change that could have severe implications for children of immigrants from high-backlog countries like India and China.