(UNITED STATES) A sweeping set of visa policy changes taking effect in 2025 is reshaping how people apply to visit, study, and work in the United States 🇺🇸, with stricter rules on interviews, where applicants can file, and how much they will pay. The U.S. Department of State confirmed that, starting in early September, most interview waivers will end, and nonimmigrant visa applicants must apply in the country where they live or hold nationality, with only narrow exceptions. Industry groups, universities, and employers warn that these steps will push already high wait times even higher and may cut the number of visitors, students, and business travelers.
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the measures rank among the most consequential tightening of visa procedures in years, and they are landing during a heavy global demand cycle that has tested consulates worldwide. Officials frame the moves as necessary to protect national security and to ensure “visa integrity.”
Key dates and headline changes
- The Department of State announced on July 25, 2025 that:
- Effective September 2, 2025, most applicants—both first‑time and renewals—must attend an in-person interview.
- Effective September 6, 2025, applicants must now seek visas in their country of residence or nationality, ending the common practice of booking appointments in a third country with shorter lines.
- A new visa integrity fee is authorized under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) and is pending final administrative steps; the amount and timing are not yet final.
Those two location- and interview-based restrictions close key release valves that applicants and consulates used to manage long waits, and they will likely push more people into backlogged appointment queues.
Why officials support the changes
- Officials say the changes will:
- Improve national security and visa integrity.
- Reduce visa fraud and improve screening through more face-to-face assessments.
- Provide consular officers better context by anchoring cases to an applicant’s home environment.
- Supporters also argue that any visa integrity fee can fund technology upgrades and fraud prevention teams.
Industry and academic concerns
Critics warn of heavy costs and disruption:
- Longer wait times will deter visitors, business travelers, and students.
- Higher fees and fewer flexible options could reduce tourism and conference attendance.
- Universities could lose students, teaching assistants, and research contributors, affecting course offerings and campus budgets.
- Large events such as the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics could face complications if participants and media cannot obtain visas on time.
“Longer waits, higher fees, and fewer flexible options will deter would-be visitors and conferences from choosing the United States,” say tourism organizations and business associations.
Current wait-time picture
Wait times for B-1/B-2 visitor visas are far beyond historic targets. As of late summer 2025, posted waits include:
- Sydney: ~7 months
- Amsterdam: ~6 months
- Paris: ~5 months
- Bogotá: >1 year
- Calgary: >2 years
By contrast, peer countries process visas much faster:
- Australia: 90% of tourist visas in 23 days
- United Kingdom: average 21 days
The reduced availability of interview waivers is expected to further strain consulates already dealing with heavy backlogs.
Mandatory Interview Location Rule (effective September 6)
- Applicants who once traveled to a different country to find an earlier slot will largely lose that option.
- Affected categories include B-1/B-2, F/M/J student and exchange visas, and work visas such as H-1B, L-1, O-1, E-1/E-2, and TN.
- Exceptions are rare and limited to:
- Humanitarian grounds
- Medical emergencies
- Clear foreign policy needs
- For countries where the U.S. does not conduct routine visa operations, State-designated third-country posts will remain (e.g., Afghans in Islamabad, Cubans in Georgetown, Iranians in Dubai).
For the vast majority of travelers, the rule ties applications to home-country consulates—often the places with the highest demand and the tightest appointment supply.
The end of most interview waivers (effective September 2)
- For several years, consulates used waivers to speed renewals and keep low-risk applicants out of interview slots.
- From September 2, most waivers go away:
- People under 14 and over 79 who previously avoided interviews will generally need one.
- Adults renewing in the same nonimmigrant category usually must appear in person with passports, forms, and supporting documents.
- Practical impacts:
- Families must coordinate multiple appointments.
- Parents with small children may face long trips to consulates.
- Delays can cause missed conferences, delayed family gatherings, and lost opportunities.
Impact by sector
- Film production, tech sales, and scientific collaboration:
- Firms may need to plan months earlier, stagger travel, or accept higher no-show risks.
- Research labs and universities:
- Visiting scholars and graduate students may miss grant milestones or classes.
- Universities should encourage early applications and flexible start dates.
- Family travel:
- Older relatives may face onerous travel to attend interviews and collect documents.
- Diversity Visa (DV) program:
- DV-2025 is capped at 52,056 visas, all to be issued by September 30, 2025.
- Local interview delays could cause selectees to lose their chance, and the location rule restricts transfers across posts.
Costs and the visa integrity fee
- The OBBA-authorized visa integrity fee will add to existing nonimmigrant and immigrant visa fees once finalized.
- Impacts:
- Families applying together face multiplied costs.
- Students juggling tuition and travel will feel the squeeze.
- Employers with repeated business travel face higher sponsorship costs.
- Fees remain non-refundable and non-transferable when applicants apply in the wrong place. After September 6, booking in a third country could mean loss of appointment and fees.
Proposed additional measures
- A draft rule under consideration would set fixed maximum stays and more vetting points for categories like students, exchange visitors, professors, and physicians.
- If adopted, these measures would require more frequent reviews and could disrupt traditional multi-year program planning.
Practical advice for applicants
- Plan early.
- Check the State Department’s posted Global Visa Wait Times regularly and book the earliest available slot.
- Confirm the correct application location.
- Schedule in the country of residence or nationality unless a State-designated post applies to your case.
- Prepare for interviews thoroughly.
- Bring passports, forms, proof of ties, travel purpose, financial support, and prior U.S. travel records.
- Avoid non-refundable bookings.
- Do not buy plane tickets, book hotels, or commit money until your visa is issued.
- Use expedited appointments only for true emergencies.
- Contact consulates through official channels; expedited slots are for narrow urgent cases.
- Monitor appointment portals frequently.
- Posts often release extra appointments on short notice.
What employers and universities should do
- Employers:
- Build longer lead times for travel and project schedules.
- Stagger trips and identify alternates.
- Universities:
- Communicate early with admitted students and scholars.
- Offer flexible start dates and help prepare documentation.
- Advocates recommend:
- Restoring some domestic renewals to reduce consular volume.
- Setting service-level targets for interviews and decisions.
- Publishing clearer appointment supply-and-demand data by post.
Broader implications
- The U.S. tourism economy contributed about $1 trillion to GDP in 2023; delays could reduce inbound travel and harm hourly workers and small businesses.
- Large events and conferences depend on predictable entry; visa delays can move contracts and attendees elsewhere.
- Visa policies also shape international perceptions: efficient processing signals openness, while opaque or slow systems risk sending the opposite message.
“Communication matters.” Both supporters and critics agree that applicants need clear guidance and consulates need staffing flexibility to respond to surges.
Final takeaways
- From September 2, 2025: most applicants must attend an in-person interview.
- From September 6, 2025: you must apply in your country of residence or nationality, unless a narrow exception applies.
- A visa integrity fee is expected to increase application costs.
- Wait times at many posts already stretch months or longer; in some cities they exceed a year.
Start early, follow post instructions carefully, and avoid assuming pre-2025 practices still apply. For official appointment estimates and current backlogs, monitor the State Department’s Global Visa Wait Times page and your local embassy or consulate site. Those pages remain the most up-to-date source for appointment windows and emergency request procedures as the 2025 rules take hold.
This Article in a Nutshell
In September 2025 the U.S. Department of State will implement major visa policy changes: most interview waivers end on September 2, and from September 6 applicants generally must apply in their country of residence or nationality. A visa integrity fee authorized by OBBA is pending and will raise application costs once finalized. Officials say the measures protect national security and reduce fraud; industry groups warn they will extend already long wait times—months to years at many posts—reducing tourism, business travel, academic exchanges, and complicating events like the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics. Applicants should plan early, confirm correct application locations, prepare thorough documentation, avoid nonrefundable bookings, and monitor the State Department’s Global Visa Wait Times and local consulate guidance for updates and emergency appointment procedures.
