The U.S. Department of State just issued a new update regarding the designation of consular locations for Immigrant Visa Interviews going forward. ‘Immigrant Visas’ are issued to people who are moving for permanent residence to the U.S.
🟢 New U.S. State Department Policy on Immigrant Visa Interview Locations (Effective Nov 1, 2025)
Effective November 1, 2025, immigrant visa applicants will generally be scheduled for interviews in the consular district of their country of residence, or, if they request, in their country of nationality—subject to a few exceptions.
But many countries have US Consulates that have suspended their operations at this time. If routine visa operations are suspended or paused in your home country’s US consulate, you’ll be redirected to a designated processing post, unless you hold nationality in a country where operations continue normally.
🟢 List of Designated U.S. Immigrant Visa Interview Locations by Country
| Country of Residence | Designated Immigrant Visa Processing Post(s) |
| Afghanistan (not Special Immigrant Visas) | Islamabad |
| Belarus | Warsaw |
| Eritrea | Addis Ababa, Nairobi |
| Haiti | Nassau |
| Iran | Abu Dhabi, Ankara, Yerevan |
| Libya | Tunis |
| Niger | Abidjan |
| North Korea | Guangzhou |
| Russia | Warsaw, Almaty (IR‑5), Tashkent (IR‑5) |
| Somalia | Nairobi |
| South Sudan | Nairobi |
| Sudan | Cairo |
| Syria | Amman; Beirut (for Palestinians with Syrian travel documents) |
| Venezuela | Bogotá |
| Yemen | Djibouti |
| Zimbabwe | Johannesburg |
🟢 How the New Visa Interview Policy Affects Your Application
- If you’re in one of the listed countries where visa services are currently unavailable, expect your interview to take place at one of the designated alternative posts.
- If you’re already scheduled for a visa appointment, it will likely remain unchanged—existing bookings won’t be automatically rescheduled.
- You can request a post-to-post transfer by contacting the National Visa Center (NVC) via their Public Inquiry Form—not by contacting the consulate directly.
- Exceptions exist only for humanitarian, medical, or urgent foreign policy reasons.
- The new policy also applies to Diversity Visa (DV‑2026) applicants.
🟢 Key Takeaways on Immigrant Visa Interview Changes
Starting November 1, 2025, most immigrant visa interviews will be conducted in your country of residence. If your home country’s U.S. consular services are disrupted, your interview will take place at an alternate designated post as shown in the chart above. You keep the right to request a different location through the NVC, and existing appointments will stand unless you act.
To file for your visa or to explore legalizing in the U.S. – please call Shepelsky Law Group at (718)769-6352 inside the U.S., or contact our WhatsApp number +1 (718) 679-3131 from anywhere in the world. To book your consultation directly – use the link https://shepelskylaw.cliogrow.com/book