The Department of State released another policy update on Saturday September 6, whereby Department of State indicated, effective immediately, nonimmigrant visa applicants must apply for visas in their home country or their country of residence. 

This is in addition to the earlier announcement that immigrant visa applicants could only interview in the consular district for their place of residence, or in their country of nationality (if requested), effective as of November 1, 2025. These announcements appear to be continued evidence of the current administration’s tightening of routine immigration processes followed by those individuals or employees seeking to follow the rules and enter the U.S. legally. 

Nonimmigrant Applicants 

As of September 6, nonimmigrant applicants will be required to apply in their home country or demonstrate residence in the country where they are applying. Department of State indicates an applicant may experience significant delays if applying outside their home country or country of residence, and it may be that doing so could lead to administrative processing or denial. For example, if someone is not a resident or national of Canada or Mexico and they attempt to process as a third country national in either of those countries, there could be greater risk of administrative processing or denial. The announcement essentially eliminates the option and ease of third country national processing whereby someone would be able to schedule their visa interview in a convenient location. 

There are three exceptions:

1. For certain A, G, C, and NATO type visas for diplomats or official type visas, or applicants for travel covered by the UN Headquarters Agreement. 
2. Where someone’s home country or last country of residence is a country where the U.S. is not conducting visa operations such as in Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, and others, then they must select the designated location for nonimmigrant visa processing as indicated by Department of State (unless their home country is included on the list, but their last country of residence is not). Please see the full list below.**
3. There are also very rare exceptions to the rules that may be made for humanitarian reasons, medical emergencies, or for foreign policy reasons. Note: It appears that the exception criteria have not been defined. 

**Designated Locations for Nonimmigrant Visa Processing

These changes come with impacts that could result in delays, additional costs, possible denials, and more. Please see below for a more detailed review of possible impacts. 

Key Takeaways for Employers:

• Employees traveling for business or pleasure may not be able to book an appointment at the consulate or Embassy most convenient to where they will be located. 
• Visa appointment wait times in certain locations may increase if none of their visa applicants qualify to obtain nonimmigrant visa interviews in other locations. 
• Employers or Employees may suffer more expensive travel costs and delays if employees from remote locations must travel to their home country even for a routine visa extension. (e.g. an Australian national in E-3 status who is traveling to London on business, may no longer process their E-3 visa extension in London. Instead, they would be required to book an additional trip to Australia following their London business trip solely for the purpose of attending a nonimmigrant visa interview. 
• According to the DOS, applicants applying outside their country of nationality or residence should expect to wait significantly longer for an appointment.
• In addition, Applicants who schedule nonimmigrant interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate outside of their country of nationality or residence may find that it will be more difficult to qualify for the requested visa.

Recommended Next Steps: 

1. Talk to your sponsored employee population about where and when they will book visa appointments. 
2. Explain the inherent risks in attempting to complete a visa appointment outside of their home country or country of residence. 
3. Ensure managers or others who approve of time off/ travel and related expenses are aware of the changes and how the new policy may impact timing and costs related to travel.