US announces visa interview waiver expansion for Pakistanis

The United States Mission in Pakistan on Thursday issued a statement regarding the expansion of interview waiver eligibility at the American embassy in Islamabad and the US Consulate General in Karachi for Pakistani citizens who are renewing B1/B2 tourist and business visas.

According to a statement issued by the US Embassy and consulates, "All Pakistani citizens, regardless of age, whose B1/B2 visas are valid or have expired within the last 48 months are eligible to participate."

Previously, only Pakistani citizens of ages 45 and older were eligible to participate. Additionally, interview waiver eligibility for student and petition-based work visa applicants who have previously held a US visa is also extended through 2023.

The expansion of interview waiver eligibility is a procedural change to provide better customer service and more efficiently process renewals of tourist and business visas for qualified and eligible Pakistani citizens, read the statement.

As required by US law, some eligible visa holders may be required to appear at the US Embassy or the Consulate General for interviews after submission of their applications.

Applicants may visit https://www.ustraveldocs.com/pk/pk-niv-visarenew.asp to determine if they are eligible for an interview waiver.

Applicants who are now eligible for the interview waiver, but are currently scheduled for an interview, may cancel their appointment online, start with 'new application' on the scheduling dashboard, and follow the steps online for submitting through interview waiver.

The applicants are advised to contact only authorised courier service locations for interview waiver submissions: https://ustraveldocs.com/pk/pk-loc-documentdropoff.asp.