U.S. Mission in India has announced expansion of the Interview Waiver Program which allows certain qualified individuals to apply for visas without being interviewed in person by a U.S. consular officer. Under the expanded program, the following Indian applicants may also be considered under the Interview Waiver Program:
- Temporary workers on H1-B visas
- Temporary workers on Individual L1-A or Individual L1-B visas
- Students returning to attend the same school and same program
- Children applying before their 14th birthday traveling on any visa class
To qualify for the Interview Waiver, the renewal application must be within the same classification as the previous visa. However, in cases where the previous visa is annotated with the words “Clearance Received,” such applicants will not be eligible for a waiver of a personal interview.
It may be recalled that earlier in March 2012, U.S. Mission in India had introduced the Interview Waiver Program under which Indian visa applicants who are renewing visas that are still valid or expired within the past 48 months within the following visa categories became eligible to submit their applications for consideration for streamlined processing, including waiver of a personal interview:
- Business/Tourism (B1 and/or B2)
- Dependent (J2, H4, L2)
- Transit (C) and/or Crew Member (D) – including C1/D
- Children applying before their 7th birthday traveling on any visa class
- Applicants applying on or after their 80th birthday traveling on any visa class
For more details on the Interview Waiver Program introduced in March 2012, please click here. U.S. Mission in India has now announced expansion of the IWP to cover additional visa categories as above.
To learn whether you qualify for the Interview Waiver Program, or if you have any queries on the IWP, please Contact VisaPro.
Paul Lyons, President, Atlas Intelligence Inc
