DOS Announces New Policy for Interviewing Immigrant Visa Applicants

Effective November 1, 2025, immigrant visa applicants must be interviewed in the consular district designated for their place of residence, or in their country of nationality if requested, with limited exceptions, the Department of State (DOS) announced.

Residents of countries where routine visa operations are suspended or paused should apply at their designated immigrant visa processing post, DOS said, unless the applicant is a national of another country with ongoing operations. The DOS notice provides a list of immigrant visa designated processing posts for such countries.

Highlights of DOS’s instructions include:

• Existing Appointments: Existing immigrant visa appointments will generally not be rescheduled or cancelled.
• Post-to-Post Transfers: Beginning immediately, if an applicant would like to transfer an immigrant visa case to a new consular district after the National Visa Center (NVC) has scheduled the appointment, the applicant should contact NVC using its Public Inquiry Form and should not contact the consular section directly.
• Residence Requirement: If an applicant requests to interview in a location other than the applicant’s assigned consular district or country of nationality, NVC may request additional information to confirm that the location is an applicant’s place of residence, or to confirm whether an exception may be appropriate.
• Exceptions: Rare exceptions may be made for humanitarian or medical emergencies or foreign policy reasons.
• Diversity Visas: These changes will be applied to Diversity Visa applicants in the DV-2026 program year.

This is posting is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal advice. If you require further assistance or advice relating to the above, please contact our Partner, Catherine Betancourt at catherine@flynnhodkinson.com.