US State Department has decided to temporarily do away with an in-person requirement for candidates applying for work-visas like the H-1B, L-1, and O-1 given coronavirus concerns. The State Department is temporarily dropping an in-person interview requirement for some work-visa categories in 2022 to ease visa issuances through December 31, 2022.
Applicants for these visas will not have to go for an in-person interview at a US consulate and consular officers are temporarily authorised to waive in-person interviews for certain individual-based non-immigration work visas and their qualifying derivatives, as per the State Department release.
“We are pleased to announce that consular officers are now temporarily authorised, through December 31, 2022, to waive in-person interviews for certain individual petition-based non-immigrant work visas and their qualifying derivatives in the following categories: Persons in Specialty Occupations (H-1B visas); Trainee or Special Education Visitors (H-3 visas); Intracompany Transferees (L visas); Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement (O visas); Athletes, Artists and Entertainers (P visas); and Participants in International Cultural Exchange Programs (Q visas),” the release read.
US state department in March 2020 had suspended all routine visa services in most countries worldwide due to the coronavirus outbreak. While the services have been reinstated with a limited capacity and on a priority basis, months-long wait times for certain visa appointments persist due to a massive backlog.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken extended consular officers’ current ability to waive off any interviews, recognsing the ‘many contributions of international visitors’ in the United States, the State Department said. Additionally, the authorization to waive the in-person interview for applicants renewing a visa in the same visa class within 48 months of the prior visa’s expiration has also been extended indefinitely. Although, the US embassies and consulates may still require an in-person interview on a case-by-case basis.