During the Biden administration, the U.S. State Department widely expanded interview waivers for visa applications at U.S. consulates abroad. There also was a pilot program to resurrect state-side visa renewals for H-1B workers. That stateside process had been available and popular until the 9/11 terrorist attacks, after which it was terminated. This all refers to short-term visas, such as for work (e.g. E, H, L, O visa categories), study (F or J), or business or tourism (B). Green cards, also called immigrant visas, require an in-person interview for persons applying at U.S. consulates.
For most visas, the U.S. consulate typically requires the applicant to schedule an interview. The “interview” often is a 30-90 second conversation with a visa officer behind a bullet-proof window, after which the officer says yes or no or refers the application to a black hole known as “administration processing” for further review and consideration. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many U.S. consulates stopped processing visas or processed them so slowly that tremendous backlogs ensued. Partly to remedy the backlogs but also to prioritize applications that would benefit from an interview, the Biden administration allowed many applicants who were renewing visas that had expired within the last four years simply to arrive in the country where the consulate is located and send their passports and application materials by mail or drop them off at a designated facility. The consulate then affixed the visa to the passport and mailed it back to the applicant. This freed up the precious little time consular staff have to do everything that goes along with their jobs.
In reversal of the four-year renewal period, the current administration now will allow visa renewals without an interview only if the prior visa expired within the last year. In typical fashion of the current administration’s vengeful behavior, its February 18, 2025 “Interview Waiver Update” specifically states that it supersedes the four-year period from December 21, 2023. There still could be some hope for the stateside visa renewal procedure, but holding one’s breath on that likely is not recommended.