US Visa: H-1B, L-1 and O-1 visas applicants don’t need to appear for an in-person interview

The US government has decided to withdraw a mandatory provision of appearing in-person at a US Consulate to get visas of the following categories, H-1B, L-1 and O-1.

The decision has been taken in the wake of the new variant Omicron which is spreading across the globe like wildfire.

A highly infectious variant, Omicron has the ability to spread five times faster than other variants and countries like the UK and the USA have witnessed a huge surge in the daily number of cases due to Omicron.

An in-person interview is the last leg in the process of visa issuance and these categories of visas are most common. Companies, who hire skilled workforce, need these types of visas to be issued to the employees they want to hire.

According to the US State Department release, the following categories of people can be waived off for non-immigrant work visas from the in-person appearance:- Persons in Specialty Occupations (H-1B visas), Trainee or Special Education Visitors (H-3 visas), Intracompany Transferees (L visas), Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement (O visas), Athletes, Artists, and Entertainers (P visas), and Participants in International Cultural Exchange Programs (Q visas).

Besides the other categories of non-immigrant visas that have also got waived off from personal appearance are Temporary Agricultural and Non-agricultural Workers (H-2 visas), Students (F and M visas), and Student Exchange Visitors (Academic J visas).

The release has also clarified that embassies and consulates may ask for an in-person appearance on case to case basis depending on the local conditions and requirements.