DOS Openly Discourages Visa Applications by Third Country Nationals

On September 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced that, effective immediately:

• Applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas “should” schedule their visa interview appointments at the U.S. embassy or consulate in their country of nationality or residence.
• If there are no routine visa operations in an applicant’s home country, they “must” apply at the consular post designated for their country.
• Third Country Nationals (TCNs), i.e., those applying outside their home country or country of residence, should expect “significantly” longer appointment wait times and “might find that it will be more difficult to qualify for the visa.”
• Already scheduled TCN visa appointments will “generally not be canceled.”
• There may be “rare” exceptions for medical emergencies, humanitarian, or foreign policy reasons.

Why Would Anyone Apply from Outside Their Home Country? Common reasons for applying in a third country include shorter appointment wait times or higher approval rates than in the applicant’s home country, lower travel expenses, or simply convenience. Example: A citizen of India currently residing in the U.S. as an H-1B worker applying for a new H-1B visa while visiting extended family in Canada. What Does This New Guidance Mean for TCN Visa Applicants? Longer appointment wait times and higher scrutiny are known issues in the TCN context. However, the new DOS guidance seems clearly designed to discourage the practice even further, and the availability of TCN visa appointments at U.S. consular posts will likely decrease dramatically. Applicants who nevertheless manage to schedule a TCN visa appointment should make sure to be extremely well prepared for their interview and expect higher than usual levels of scrutiny. In addition, visa applicants and their employers should have contingency plans in case of administrative processing or visa denial, both of which could add weeks or even months to the process and require the applicant to reapply in their home country.