The U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced that beginning November 1, 2025, all immigrant visa applicants will be required to complete their interviews in the consular district designated for their place of residence or, if requested, in their country of nationality. Currently, applicants have flexibility in choosing their interview location.
The new rules change how immigrant visa cases are handled around the world, as part of the Trump administration’s broader push to tighten immigration rules and increase oversight of the process.
Key Policy Details
- The policy affects all immigrant visa categories, including family- and employment-based applications as well as Diversity Visa lottery winners in the DV-2026 program year.
- The National Visa Center (NVC) will generally maintain existing appointments to minimize disruptions.
- For applicants living in countries where routine visa operations are suspended or paused, the DOS has designated alternative processing posts to ensure continued operations (see the table below).
- The DOS said it will make rare exceptions for humanitarian or medical emergencies, though it did not specify the criteria.
Immigrant Visa Designated Processing Posts
| Country of Residence | Designated Posts |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan (except Special Immigrant Visas) | Islamabad |
| Belarus | Warsaw |
| Eritrea | Addis Ababa, Nairobi |
| Haiti | Nassau |
| Iran | Abu Dhabi, Ankara, Yerevan |
| Libya | Tunis |
| Niger | Abidjan |
| North Korea | Guangzhou |
| Russia | Warsaw, Almaty (IR-5), Tashkent (IR-5) |
| Somalia | Nairobi |
| South Sudan | Nairobi |
| Sudan | Cairo |
| Syria | Amman, Beirut (for Palestinians with Syrian Travel Documents) |
| Venezuela | Bogotá |
| Yemen | Djibouti |
| Zimbabwe | Johannesburg |
What This Means for U.S. Immigrants and Their Families
For individuals and families hoping to reunite in the U.S., the new rule limits options for where visa interviews can take place. In the past, applicants could request interviews at other consulates if their home country’s field office faced long wait times or limited staffing. This flexibility sometimes helped speed up case processing or made interviews easier to attend.
What Immigrant Visa Applicants Can Do Now
Your next steps depend on where you are in the immigration process.
For current applicants:
If you have a pending immigrant visa case, check the designated immigrant visa posts for your country and confirm your assigned location with the NVC. Existing appointments will generally be maintained, but understanding your designated post is important for contingency planning.
Those seeking to transfer their case to a new consular district after the NVC has scheduled the appointment should contact the NVC directly using their Public Inquiry Form. Do not contact consular sections directly, as this may delay processing.
Be prepared to provide additional information to confirm your place of residence if requesting to interview in a location other than your assigned consular district.
For future applicants:
Factor the new residence requirements into your immigration planning. Consider the processing times and capacity at your designated post when making timeline projections.
As the immigration landscape continues to evolve, staying current with policy changes and working with an experienced immigration attorney can help prevent delays.
Key impacts for immigrant families:
- Reduced flexibility: The ability to choose more convenient or faster-processing consulates is largely eliminated.
- Extended separation periods: Families may experience longer processing times, especially in regions with consular backlogs or limited capacity.
- Increased travel costs: Applicants may face higher expenses traveling to designated posts, particularly those in countries with suspended operations who must interview in third countries.
- Planning challenges: The new rules require more careful coordination of family schedules and financial resources
- Documentation requirements: Additional proof of residence may be required for those seeking rare humanitarian exceptions.
What This Means for U.S. Employers
For U.S. employers sponsoring international talent, this policy introduces new complexities into workforce planning and immigration timelines. Companies with global operations or those actively recruiting foreign workers will need to recalibrate their hiring strategies and onboarding processes.
Key impacts for businesses:
- Extended processing timelines: HR departments should factor additional processing time into hiring projections, particularly for candidates in countries with designated processing posts.
- Increased recruitment costs: Companies may need to budget for employee travel to designated interview locations, potentially including international flights and extended stays.
- Strategic workforce planning: Businesses should evaluate the geographic distribution of their talent pipeline and consider the visa processing landscape when making hiring decisions.
- Compliance and coordination: Enhanced documentation requirements may necessitate closer collaboration with immigration attorneys and additional HR support for visa applicants.
- Competitive disadvantage: Delays in securing key international talent could impact business operations and competitive positioning in global markets.
The policy especially impacts companies hiring from countries like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, where visa interviews must take place in third countries. This could create new delays and bottlenecks for filling essential hires.
Employers sponsoring immigrant workers through employment-based green card processes should build additional buffer time into onboarding and mobility plans to avoid operational disruptions. This is especially important for companies in technology, healthcare, and other sectors that rely heavily on international talent.
Looking Ahead
The policy change is a reminder of how important it is to plan ahead and keep up with shifting immigration rules. The State Department says most applicants will not have their interviews canceled or moved, but with fewer options available, families and employers should consider working with an experienced immigration attorney to help them navigate the process.