US tightens rules for nonimmigrant visa applications

Hyderabad: Starting now, if you want a US nonimmigrant visa (NIV), you must apply either from your home country or the country where you live legally.

The new law will be effective from November 1, 2025.

Nationals of countries where the US is not conducting routine visa operations must apply at a designated embassy or consulate, unless they reside elsewhere.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate their residence if applying based on residency.

Key requirement for US visa

• Proof of residence: If you apply based on where you live, you must show documents proving you live there.
• Fees: If you apply from a country where you don’t live or aren’t a citizen, it might be harder to get a visa, and the fees won’t be refunded or transferred.
• Wait times: Appointments outside your home or residence country may take longer to get.
• Current appointments: Already booked visa appointments are not usually cancelled.

Exceptions

• Diplomatic or official visas
• A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO visas
• Travel under the UN Headquarters Agreement
• Rare humanitarian or medical emergencies

The department warned that scheduling visa interviews outside one’s country of nationality or residence may make it harder to qualify for a visa.

A non-immigrant visa permits temporary entry into a country, such as the United States, for specific purpose like tourism, study or temporary work, with the exception that the holder will leave the country by the visa’s expiration date.