The United States has curbed the timeline for interview waiver process which is commonly known as dropbox process to 12 months. Earlier, the timeline was 48 months. This change will allow applicants having expired visas to appear for an in-person interview instead of renewing it at the Visa Application Center (VAC).
This move will impact non-immigrant visa holders of H1B, B1/B2 and F1 visas. Although there has not been any official announcement regarding the change, the VAC has started rejecting the applications which no longer meet the new criteria.
EARLIER CRITERIA
This change was introduced during COVID-19 to reduce the consular backlog. With this change, applicants having visas expiring within 48 months can renew it using the dropbox facility. The recent update will allow aspirants to schedule in-person interviews.
The interview waiting time period is quite high for US embassies which will cause travel disruptions for non-immigrant visa holders.
REASONS FOR POLICY CHANGE
Executive Order 14161, signed by US President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, is titled “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” This change has been introduced to strengthen immigration screening and vetting procedures.
The US embassy in Delhi said, “The US Department of State is undertaking a full review of all visa programmes as directed under Executive Order 14161. That’s all the information we have at this time.”
The measures includes
- Identifying high risk countries for entry restrictions
- Intensifying refugee screening strategy
- Finding security breaches in visa programs
- Increasing oversight of foreign immigrants already in US
- encourage immigrant assimilation into American society
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