The United States Department of State has announced sweeping changes to the way immigrant visa interviews will be scheduled and conducted, with the new rules set to take effect on November 1, 2025. The move standardises the process by tying interviews more closely to an applicant’s place of residence or nationality, replacing the previous system that allowed some applicants to attend interviews in third countries for convenience.
Under the revised guidelines, all applicants will now be required to attend their interviews at the U.S. consular post that serves their country of residence, or alternatively, in their country of nationality if they specifically request it. The National Visa Center (NVC) has been instructed to begin implementing the new requirements immediately when scheduling appointments, ensuring future cases reflect the updated framework.
For Kenyans applying for immigrant visas, the change will not disrupt existing procedures, as interviews will continue to be held at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. However, the Nairobi mission has also been designated as the primary processing centre for applicants from neighbouring countries with limited or no U.S. consular operations. This includes nationals of Somalia and South Sudan, who will now have their immigrant visa interviews scheduled in Kenya. For Eritrean applicants, interviews will take place either in Nairobi or at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Elsewhere in the region, Sudanese applicants will be processed in Cairo, while Syrians will need to travel to Amman, Jordan, or in some cases Beirut, Lebanon. Globally, the designations extend to other special arrangements: Afghans will be scheduled in Islamabad, Belarusians in Warsaw, Haitians in Nassau, Iranians in Abu Dhabi, Ankara, or Yerevan, Venezuelans in Bogotá, Yemenis in Djibouti, and Zimbabweans in Johannesburg.
The State Department emphasised that the updated policy aims to streamline and clarify the interview process for individuals in countries without routine consular services. Officials stressed that the move will make visa processing more predictable and ensure that interviews are connected to applicants’ actual place of residence or nationality, except in limited circumstances.
Exceptions may be granted on humanitarian or medical grounds, or where foreign policy considerations apply. In such cases, applicants may seek interviews outside their designated posts, but they must provide documentation to justify the request.
The Department further clarified that the changes will not affect interviews already scheduled prior to the November 1 start date. Applicants with confirmed appointments are advised to keep their existing dates, as requests for transfers will not be entertained directly by consulates. Those who wish to transfer their case after scheduling must use the Public Inquiry Form provided by the National Visa Center.
The new policy will also impact participants in the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery, beginning with the DV-2026 program year. Winners of the green card lottery will now have their interviews tied to their country of residence or nationality, eliminating the flexibility that some applicants had in choosing third-country locations.
In a statement, the State Department urged applicants to regularly monitor embassy and consulate websites for up-to-date information on visa requirements, appointment availability, and operating status. The Department also noted that the revised guidelines supersede all previous instructions related to immigrant visa interviews, marking one of the most significant changes to the process in recent years.
