US visa application from UAE: Stricter interview rules for visas effective September 2025

Dubai: The U.S. Department of State has announced a significant policy change for immigrant visa applicants, requiring most to undergo an interview in their country of residence or nationality.

According to an August 28 update on the US Department of State website, “The Department of State is now requiring immigrant visa applicants to interview in the consular district designated for their place of residence, or in their country of nationality if requested, with limited exceptions.”

This new guidance supersedes all previous advisories on visa application requirements.

Under the new policy, which takes effect on November 1, 2025, the National Visa Centre will be the sole authority for scheduling immigrant visa appointments in an applicant’s country of residence. This change marks a shift from previous guidance that sometimes allowed for more flexible interview locations.

Since taking office, the Trump administration has implemented multiple changes to US immigration policies.

This update follows an August 25 announcement in which the State Department stated that, starting September 2, 2025, most UAE residents applying for non-immigrant US visas will no longer be able to skip the interview stage, even if they have previously qualified for a waiver.

That includes children under 14 and adults over 79, who were previously automatically exempt.

And the aforementioned change also comes after the US Department of State issued an update on July 25, rolling back the flexible waiver system introduced during the pandemic.

The new rules are particularly important for residents of countries where routine visa operations have been suspended or paused. The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi has been officially designated as a processing post for immigrant visa applications from Iranian nationals, for example.

The new policy specifies the following designated posts for residents of other nations with suspended operations:

Applicants with existing appointments should note that these will generally not be rescheduled or cancelled.

A key procedural change is for those requesting to transfer their case to a new consular district after the National Visa Centre has scheduled an appointment. Such requests must now be made directly to the National Visa Centre via their Public Inquiry Form, and not to the consular section.

The Department of State has indicated that exceptions to the residence requirement will be rare and will be granted only for specific reasons, such as humanitarian or medical emergencies or for foreign policy considerations.

These new rules will also be applied to Diversity Visa applicants in the DV-2026 program year, the State Department explained. All applicants have also been encouraged to regularly check the official embassy and consulate websites for the most detailed and up-to-date information on visa application procedures.