U.S. Government Instructs Visa Applicants to Apply in Their Country of Residence
The U.S. Department of State this week directed all nonimmigrant visa applicants to apply in their country of nationality or residence, making it harder to apply in another country except under narrow exceptions.
Third-country national (TCN) applicants who apply outside of their home country may face “significantly” longer wait times and find it harder to qualify, according to the announcement.
The State Department provided a list of designated U.S. consulate or embassy locations nonimmigrant visa holders should use if their country of nationality or residence does not have a visa-issuing consulate or embassy:
| Nationals of | Use Designated Location(s) |
|---|---|
Afghanistan | Islamabad, Pakistan |
Belarus | Vilnius, Lithuania or Warsaw, Poland |
Chad | Yaoundé, Cameroon |
Cuba | Georgetown, Guyana |
Haiti | Nassau, Bahamas |
Iran | Dubai, UAE |
Libya | Tunis, Tunisia |
Niger | Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |
Russian | Astana, Kazakhstan or Warsaw, Poland |
Somalia and South Sudan | Nairobi, Kenya |
Sudan | Cairo, Egypt |
Syria | Amman, Jordan |
Ukraine | Krakow or Warsaw, Poland |
Venezuela | Bogota, Colombia |
Yemen | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
Zimbabwe | Johannesburg, South Africa |
The State Department indicated existing TCN appointments “will generally not be cancelled” and that fees paid for those appointments would not be refunded and cannot be transferred.
Exceptions to the State Department directive include applicants for A, G, C-2, C-3, and NATO visas; applicants for diplomatic-type or official-type visas (regardless of classification); and applicants for any visa for travel covered by the UN Headquarters Agreement. The department said there may also be rare exceptions for humanitarian, medical emergency, or foreign policy reasons.
As always, applicants can check visa wait times on the Department of State’s website.