{"id":39974,"date":"2025-08-25T17:02:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T17:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/?p=39974"},"modified":"2025-08-26T08:08:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T08:08:10","slug":"us-visa-changes-mandatory-interviews-starting-september-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/us-visa-changes-mandatory-interviews-starting-september-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"US Visa Changes: Mandatory Interviews Starting September 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Starting September 2, 2025<\/strong>, UAE residents <strong>applying for non-immigrant US visas<\/strong> will face a significant change: most will <strong>no longer be able to skip the interview<\/strong> process. This includes children under 14 and adults over 79, who were previously exempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United States is returning to pre-pandemic screening rules for visa applicants, which means that <strong>applicants must attend an in-person interview<\/strong> at either the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the US Consulate in Dubai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2460636907.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-37210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2460636907.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2460636907-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2460636907-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/shutterstock_2460636907-150x75.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, a small group will still qualify for interview waivers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. <strong>Diplomatic &amp; official visas<\/strong> under <strong>A, G, and NATO categories<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. <strong>B1\/B2 (business\/tourist) visa renewals<\/strong>, but only if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>renewal is within 12 months<\/strong> of the previous visa expiry<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019re <strong>applying in your home country or country of residence<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>No history of visa refusals<\/strong> or ineligibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/shutterstock_2170549303.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26656\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/shutterstock_2170549303.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/shutterstock_2170549303-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/shutterstock_2170549303-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/shutterstock_2170549303-150x75.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consular officers can still request interviews at their discretion, even for applicants who would otherwise qualify for a waiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, <strong>from 2026, the US will introduce an <a href=\"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/us-visa-to-include-new-usd-250-integrity-fee-for-travellers-from-2026-here-are-all-details\">integrity fee of USD 250<\/a> for all applicants<\/strong>, adding to the cost of obtaining a non-immigrant visa. Be sure to stay updated on how this may affect the cost of your trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Starting September 2, 2025, UAE residents applying for non-immigrant US visas will face a significant change: most will no longer be able to skip the interview process. This includes children under 14 and adults over 79, who were previously exempt. The United States is returning to pre-pandemic screening rules for visa applicants, which means that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":39975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-39974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"tags":[{"id":15448,"slug":"news","link":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/news\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest News"}}],"countries":[{"id":15497,"slug":"uae","link":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/uae\/","api_id":254,"title":{"rendered":"UAE"}}],"cities":[{"id":15498,"slug":"dubai","link":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/uae\/dubai\/","api_id":1,"title":{"rendered":"Dubai"}}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinumlist.net\/guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}