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Typically, applying for a visa for the USA is not that easy and, above all, time-consuming. But with the so-called Interview Waiver Program or Visa Reissuance Program, certain applicants have the opportunity to renew their visa conveniently by mail instead of in a personal interview at the US consulate.
As part of the Interview Waiver Program certain applicants can, under precisely defined conditions
This means that, in exceptional cases, the visa can be sent in by post and without interview so that you do not have to appear in person at the US consular section.
The Interview Waiver Program is also known as Visa Reissuance Program or Visa Renewal Program.
The exemption from the interview requirement for certain visa categories helps to reduce the workload of consular staff and normalize the appointment situation.
In recent years, many applicants for US non-immigrant visas have been able to avoid a consulate appointment by sending their documents by mail.
On July 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of State published a new regulation that will take effect on September 2, 2025. According to this regulation, a personal interview at the consulate will again be required for almost all applicants, regardless of age, including applicants under 14 and over 79.
Even if the criteria are met, consular decision-makers still have the right to request a personal interview in individual cases. This regulation replaces the previous one from February 18, 2025, and marks a clear retreat from the regulation expanded in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to waive interviews for a variety of visa categories.
Since September 2, 2025, significantly stricter conditions apply for the exemption from the personal interview appointment when applying for a US non-immigrant visa. In principle, all applicants - regardless of age - are required to attend an in-person interview. An interview waiver is only possible in the following cases:
The following categories remain interview-exempt:
Applies to B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2 and Border Crossing Card/Folio (for Mexican nationals) if all the following conditions are met:
US consulates worldwide can decide for themselves which groups of people they offer interview waivers to and whether a personal interview is still required in individual cases. This means that applicants who use the postal procedure may be invited for an interview by the US consulate at a later date if necessary.
Furthermore, using the Interview Waiver Program does not automatically guarantee that you will receive a US visa. Please visit the website of the relevant US embassy or consulate for information on the respective procedure, appointment availability, and guidelines for your visa application.
First of all, it is important to know that there is no standardized application procedure for the Interview Waiver Program at US consular missions worldwide. You should therefore find out about the requirements and individual processes of the mail-in procedure in your country of application in good time before applying for a visa.
Applicants should be available to the US consulate during the application process for further questions or a (possible) subsequent invitation to a personal appointment.
As part of the changeover to a new booking system and new visa profiles, the Interview Waiver Navigator was implemented for the first time for the German US consulates (Berlin, Frankfurt / Main, Munich). The IWP Navigator is available in both German and English.
The most important new feature is that applicants must now send an e-mail to the US consulate in advance, which must contain certain information and application documents.
Those who wish to take advantage of the Interview Waiver Program at the US consulates in Germany must now proceed as follows to submit their visa application documents:
Some of the visa profiles still contain old information. This means that some online profiles still refer to the old (exclusively postal) submission procedure and not yet to the Interview Waiver Navigator. We recommend that you strictly adhere to what is displayed in the system.
In the German US consulates or the US embassy, the processing times for the postal submission procedure are around 2 to 4 weeks - from sending the application documents to the US consulate / US embassy to returning the passport including the US visa to the applicant.
The processing times in other countries may differ from this.
We advise you on the choice of the appropriate visa category and take over the complete processing for you or your company.
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