Washington: Starting September 2, 2025, the ‘dropbox’ programme (interview waivers) is basically gone for most visa types, including H1B renewals. The change will impact almost everyone renewing H1B, L1, F1, O1 visas - even kids under 14 and seniors over 79 now need interviews.

Waivers are subject to only a few limited exceptions: Those having official or diplomatic visas (such as A, G, NATO, TECRO, etc) may still be eligible for interview waivers.

Within 12 months of its expiration, travellers can renew their full-validity B-1/B-2 (or border crossing) visas, as long as they applied from their home country, were at least 18 when the visa was issued, and had no ineligibility or visa refusals.

The change may result in a substantial spike in demand for interview dates at US consulates, which might cause travel schedule delays, longer wait times, and logistical difficulties, particularly for heavily affected nations like India.

Few appointments with Dropbox have already been terminated early:

Applicants are being asked to show up for in-person interviews sooner than anticipated, and several Dropbox spots for August and September have already been suspended. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also issued a significant policy update that clarifies that a visa will now be deemed “available” for the purposes of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age calculation. Children of highly qualified immigrants from the nations with the largest backlogs, namely China and India, may suffer greatly under the new move, according to immigration advocates.