{"id":15045,"date":"2025-08-19T14:33:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/issmanoa\/?page_id=15045"},"modified":"2025-09-18T16:23:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T02:23:39","slug":"visa-interview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/issmanoa\/?page_id=15045","title":{"rendered":"In-Person Visa Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-15045\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-15045-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-15045-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-15045-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget_sow-editor panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><h2 class=\"widget-title\">In-Person Visa Interview Requirements for F-1 and J-1 Students<\/h2>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Effective September 2, 2025, the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/travel.state.gov\/content\/travel\/en\/News\/visas-news\/interview-waiver-update-july-25-2025.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> U.S. Department of State<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will require most nonimmigrant visa applicants to attend an in-person interview. This policy change specifically impacts F-1 and J-1 students by reversing previous interview waiver policies.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Who Is affected?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most F-1 and J-1 applicants, including those renewing a visa, will now be required to schedule and attend an in-person interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Previous exemptions for \"dropbox\" mail-in renewals and age-based exemptions (for those under 14 and over 79) are no longer in effect.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>What you need to know:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This policy change is expected to significantly increase the demand for appointments, which could lead to longer wait times and processing delays. A very narrow set of applicants may still be eligible for an interview waiver, but consular officers retain full discretion to require an in-person interview for any reason.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>What you need to do:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We strongly advise you to plan ahead and apply as early as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check the website of the specific embassy or consulate where you plan to apply to understand their current wait times and requirements.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do not book non-refundable travel until your visa has been issued.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more information on this policy, you can refer to news and updates on the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/travel.state.gov\/content\/travel\/en\/News\/visas-news.html\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. Department of State's visa news page<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This supersedes the prior Department of State Interview Waiver Update of February 18, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We understand these changes may cause concern. Please reach out to an ISS advisor if you have questions about how these new requirements affect you. Please note that ISS advisors can provide guidance on immigration regulations but cannot offer legal advice.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Effective September 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of State will require most nonimmigrant visa applicants to attend an in-person interview. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":15141,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15045","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-visa-pages","post"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>In-Person Visa Interview - International Student Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/issmanoa\/?page_id=15045\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In-Person Visa Interview - International Student Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Effective September 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of State will require most nonimmigrant visa applicants to attend an in-person interview. 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