Immigrant Visa Applicants Required to Apply in Country of Residence or Nationality

On August 28, 2025, the Department of State (DOS) announced that effective November 1, 2025, immigrant visa applicants will be required to attend their interviews at the US consular post in their country of residence, or, if requested, in their country of nationality. A limited exception is available based on humanitarian reasons, medical emergencies or foreign policy reasons. This new policy applies to employment-based and family-based immigrant visa applicants as well as selected Diversity Visa (DV) applicants in the DV2026 program. 

Per the DOS announcement, existing immigrant visa interview appointments should not be impacted by this change in policy. Furthermore, requests to transfer to another consular post after the interview has already been scheduled will now be submitted to the DOS’ National Visa Center (NVC) through its public inquiry form.  Applicants should no longer contact the assigned consular post directly to request for the transfer, as was required under former policy.

For residents of countries where routine US visa services are suspended or limited, the DOS has assigned specific processing posts listed in its announcement.

What This Means for Our Clients

This change in policy will likely result in longer wait times to be scheduled for the immigrant visa interview, particularly at consular posts that have significant backlogs, such as Montreal, Canada where the current wait time is over one year. Applicants who currently reside in the United States will only be able to apply for their immigrant visas in their home country.