1. Overview of Policy Change
Effective September 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will significantly narrow the categories of nonimmigrant visa applicants who will be eligible for the visa interview waiver program (more commonly referred to as “Dropbox”).
Going forward, nearly all temporary, nonimmigrant visa applicants (H-1B, L-1, TN-2, F-1, E-3, J-1, E-2, O-1) — including children under the age of 14 and adults over the age of 79 — will be required to attend in‑person visa stamping interviews at a U.S. Consulate, with few exceptions.
2. Who May Still Qualify for an Interview Waiver
Only the following applicant types may potentially waive the in-person consular interview:
Diplomatic and official visas, including classifications A‑1, A‑2, C‑3 (excluding personal employees/servants), G‑1 through G‑4, NATO‑1 through NATO‑6, and TECRO E‑1.
Certain short‑term visitor visa renewals, specifically applicants for full‑validity B‑1, B‑2, or combined B‑1/B‑2 visas, or Border Crossing Card/Foil renewals (for Mexican nationals) within 12 months of prior visa expiration or while still valid, but only if the applicant was aged 18 or older at the time of issuance of the prior visa, applied for in the foreign national’s country of nationality or legal residence, with no prior visa refusals (unless formally overcome/waived) and no apparent or potential ineligibility.
3. Significant Changes Compared to Prior Policy
This announcement supersedes the February 18, 2025 interview waiver guidance, further restricting interview waiver eligibility beyond previous restrictions from 48‑month to a 12‑month renewal window.
4. Implications for Sponsored Employees
If your employee already has a Dropbox appointment scheduled for after September 1, 2025, we strongly recommend he/she contacts the consular post immediately to reschedule or convert the Dropbox appointment to an in-person appointment. That your employee has a Dropbox appointment scheduled is in no way binding on DOS – those appointments, if not converted, will be cancelled and, thus, should not be relied upon.
Your sponsored employees should also anticipate that demand for in-person visa appointments will rise sharply, particularly in work and student visa categories and, thus, interview wait times are projected to lengthen substantially.
Those without appointments but who are planning international travel for visa renewals in the near-term: should plan now for in-person stamping procedures abroad. To avoid delays or disruptions to travel plans, employees should expedite the scheduling process and prepare for in-person interview scheduling, including gathering the appropriate documentation and making sure to secure an in-person appointment before finalizing any travel plans.
5. Recommended Action Steps
Sponsored employees should review and familiarize themselves with the steps for securing an in-person visa interview processing at their respective consular post.
Encourage your employees to initiate DS‑160 submissions, pay MRV fees, and schedule interviews well in advance of planned travel. As noted above, the conversion of existing Dropbox appointments into in-person interviews, will cause significantly higher competition for available appointment slots and longer lead times to secure a visa interview.
Encourage your sponsored employees to monitor Embassy/US Consulate websites for updates on appointment availability and local procedures. If international travel is not necessary, conservatively, it may be sound advice to hold off on travel plans until the cycle of Dropbox cancellations works its way through the system.
If you have any questions please contact: Anthony F. Siliato, Scott R. Malyk, Lin R. Walker, or Stacey A. Simon.