Department of State Ends Third-Country-National (TCN) Visa Processing

Applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas are now required to schedule their visa interview appointments at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy in their country of residence or nationality, U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced.

While the announcement said existing TCN nonimmigrant visa (NIV) appointments would generally not be cancelled, some such cancellations are occurring.

A strict reading of the policy would require spouses of different nationalities to process separately in their respective home countries.

We are continuing to track how the policy is being applied.

In the meantime, foreign nationals should plan to apply for visas in their country of residence or nationality, and should be prepared to demonstrate residence in the country where they are applying if they do not hold citizenship there.  

This development continues the recent trend of restricting consular access, following the limitation on interview waivers that went into effect on September 2.

As a result, visa appointment backlogs and processing delays are likely to grow, especially at high-volume consulates. Applicants should take this into account when making international travel plans.