The United States Department of State (DOS) has issued an announcement that, effective immediately, United States nonimmigrant visa applicants “should” apply for their visas at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their country of nationality or residence, rather than as Third Country Nationals (TCNs) at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in another country.
In the same announcement, DOS states that citizens of countries where the U.S. government is not conducting routine nonimmigrant visa operations (such as Iran, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela) “must” apply at the designated embassy or consulate, unless their residence is elsewhere. A list is provided to enable such persons to locate the appropriate embassy or consulate.
The announcement provides no clarity on what is required to establish that a visa applicant is a resident of the country in which the application is being filed, other than to state that “[a]pplicants must be able to demonstrate residence in the country where they are applying, if the place of application is based on their residency.” It is possible that a work permit or temporary visa allowing employment (not just a tourist visa) may suffice to establish such residence, and that formal permanent resident or immigrant status will not be required. This has been the policy of U.S. consulates in Canada for some time.
It is not clear if the DOS’ announcement should be interpreted as a formal prohibition on all TCN nonimmigrant visa applications. In the announcement, DOS states that “[a]pplicants who schedule nonimmigrant interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate outside of their country of nationality or residence might find that it will be more difficult to qualify for the visa.” The announcement further states that “[a]pplicants applying outside their country of nationality or residence should expect to wait significantly longer for an appointment.” These comments suggest that TCN visa applications are not forbidden, and may take place but are discouraged and that consulates may make TCN visa applications difficult and the process generally undesirable. The announcement also states that TCN visa applications that have already been scheduled will generally not be canceled.
DOS will make exceptions for applicants for A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO visas, applicants for diplomatic-type or official-type visas (regardless of classification), and applicants for any visa for travel covered by the United Nations Headquarters Agreement. Exceptions may also be made for humanitarian or medical emergencies or foreign policy reasons, but these will be “rare.”
The new policy effectively means that TCN nonimmigrant visa applications by persons who hold lawful status in the United States filed at U.S. consulates in Canada or Mexico will become much more problematic and will generally not be a viable option. Such applications have for some years been a convenient option for many nonimmigrants in the United States and have allowed them to avoid the expense and inconvenience of trans-oceanic travel. The DOS announcement does not provide any explanation or justification for the new policy and does not identify consular forum shopping as a concern. The policy should simply be seen as part of the agency’s overall initiative, most recently reflected in the elimination of visa interview waivers, which we reported on in our Alert of July 28, 2025.
