From Washington to Abuja, the U.S. Department of State has sounded a clarion call to every non‑immigrant visa hopeful: your interview must now be booked and attended at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate located either in the country where you hold citizenship or where you currently reside, as confirmed in the fresh directive unveiled this week.
This dramatic shift, coming into effect on September 2, 2025, effectively ends the longstanding “drop‑box” renewal system and age‑based interview exemptions that allowed travelers, students, and professionals to bypass consular interviews in many cases
Henceforth, nearly all applicants, including visa renewals in categories such as H, L, F, M, J, O‑1, and even business or tourist visas, are now required to attend face‑to‑face interviews. This includes children under 14 and senior citizens older than 79, saving only a narrow exemption for diplomatic, official or certain B‑visa renewals under tightly defined conditions
Moreover, to qualify for any limited interview waiver, especially in the case of B‑1/B‑2 renewals, applicants must not only schedule their interview in their country of nationality or residence, but also have no record of visa refusals (unless duly waived) and must meet stringent eligibility checks
This recalibration of policy marks a clear pivot back to pre‑COVID-era vetting processes and underscores intensifying U.S. concerns over global security.
For prospective travellers from Nigeria and beyond, the message is unambiguous: plan early, apply locally, and expect to appear in person. The convenient waivers of the pandemic era are now largely history, replaced by a far more rigorous and deliberate screening process.
