US expands interview waiver for visa seekers from India

Those eligible for the waiver are students (F, M and academic J visas), workers (H-1, H-2, H-3, and individual L visas), culture and extraordinary ability (O, P, and Q visas). South Asian community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria had raised the issue.

The United States has waived in-person interview requirements for many visa applicants, including students and workers, at its diplomatic missions in India till December 31 this year, a senior American diplomat has told Indian community leaders, a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.

Those eligible for the waiver are students (F, M and academic J visas), workers (H-1, H-2, H-3, and individual L visas), culture and extraordinary ability (O, P, and Q visas).

“This is much-needed support to visa applicants. This would be very helpful to our friends and immediate family members and remove a lot of their concerns and remove inconveniences,” Ajay Jain Bhutoria, South Asian community leader and US President Joe Biden’s Adviser for Asian-Americans, said after his meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for South Central Asia Donal Lu.

Bhutoria had raised the issue during his meeting with Lu in Silicon Valley in California on Friday. 

Lu said the US Department of State was authorised to waive in-person interview requirements for certain applicants and their qualifying derivatives in various non-immigrant visa classifications.

He added that to be eligible for the expanded interview waiver programme, applicants seeking these visa classifications must have previously been issued any category of US visa, never been refused a US visa and have no indication of ineligibility or potential visa ineligibility. 

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