Key Highlights
The United States has formally shut down a workaround that Indian nationals used to circumvent lengthy visa application queues in their home country. On September 6, 2025, the US Department of State adopted a directive terminating the practice of stamping a third country, and all non-immigrant visa applicants are now required to make appointments in their home country of citizenship or lawful residence only.
Immediate Impact on Indian Travelers and Students
The new policy has implications on all the major visa such as B1/B2 visitor, F1 student, H1B work, and O-1 visas. Indians who have travelled to other countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Germany, or Brazil, in the past to obtain faster appointments, are now to apply to the US consulates in India.
The effect of this change is specifically on the more than 330,000 Indian students in the US and thousands planning to travel. The travel agents validate that Indians consistently travelled to countries for up to 15-20 months in countries like Germany due to B1/B2 interviews, particularly in the post-COVID era.
|
US Consulate Location |
Current Wait Time |
|
Mumbai |
3.5 months |
|
Hyderabad |
3.5 months |
|
New Delhi |
4.5 months |
|
Kolkata |
5 months |
|
Chennai |
9 months |
Also Read: US Court Grants Relief to 133 Students After Sudden SEVIS Termination
Third-Country Stamping Practice Ends
The third-country stamping system enabled the Indians to reserve visa appointments in nations where there were fewer queues. One travel agency said that Indians would travel as far as Bangkok, Singapore and even Frankfurt to carry out B1/B2 interviews. They would remain there for anything between 10 days and a week, retrieve their passport at the US consulates in those places and go back to India.
Even in 2005, when the Indian wait times had hit 15-20 months, the US consulate in Frankfurt had put aside particular appointment slots for Indian applicants. H1B applicants often went to places such as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Chiang Mai Thailand to be processed faster.
Limited Exceptions Apply
The State Department clarifies that exceptions exist only for nationals of countries where the US is not conducting routine non-immigrant visa operations. Designated locations include:
-
Russia: Astana and Warsaw
-
Afghanistan: Islamabad
-
Iran: Dubai
Mandatory In-Person Interviews Introduced
The US abolished the majority of interview waivers on non-immigrant visas starting September 2, 2025. Categories that were previously not subject to the mandate to have in-person interviews with the consular officers, such as children under the age of 14 and adults above the age of 79, now have to undergo such interviews. The other exception is that only applicants who wish to renew their full validity B1, B2, or B1/B2 visas 12 months before expiration and were at least 18 years old at the time when the previous visa was granted may do so.
Also Read: USCIS 2025 Registration Rule: What Non-citizens Need to Know
Student Visa Processing Challenges
Indian students are under extra pressure because the US missions caused a decline in the student visa processing capacity, coupled with the implementation of new screening procedures in July 2025. In Ahmedabad, there are reports of low student visa approval rates of less than 50 per cent.
Education consultancy services verify that, regardless of how the applicants began their third-country application, they are now being forced to reapply in India with repayment of fees and prolonged delays. It is a fact that many students are losing complete academic years as a result of missing admission cycles.
|
Visa Category |
Proposed Change |
Current System |
|
F1 Student Visa |
Fixed 4-year maximum |
Duration of status |
|
PhD Programs |
Extension required |
Duration of status |
|
Optional Practical Training |
Extension with fees |
Duration of status |
Industry Response and Consequences
According to the travel industry sources, there has been much interference with the practices of visa consultation. The change is not only to the individual applicants but also to the universities as well as communities that rely on the presence of international students. The US Embassy in India has made warnings of strict compliance and observes that breaches such as missing classes, working without authorisation or not sustaining enrollment may lead to visa revocation, deportation, and permanent US travel prohibitions.
Also Read: US Immigration Tightens Green Card Process for Spouses
Strategic Implications for Indian Applicants
The policy reform is a subset of the wider immigration controls of the present administration. Travel and study plans now require applicants to consider longer processing times, and last-minute trips are now much harder to make. This increases the relevance of higher planning in the case of business travellers, whereas tourists might have to take into consideration destinations with less restrictive visa policies. Students have another stressor of matching visa permits with university commencement dates when there is less availability of appointments.
Conclusion
The introduction of the Indian Visa Change of application rules and the removal of the third country application required the US visa regulations to radically change, whereby all non-immigrant visa seekers are required to work through Indian consulates, regardless of the long queues. This change in policy, which took effect immediately, represents a drastic departure from the flexibilities of the pandemic era and presents a new setback for Indian students, professionals, and travellers who wish to obtain visas for the US.
The reform impacts hundreds of thousands of applicants and is an indicator of a wider narrowing of the immigration process that will demand strategic thinking and tolerance on the part of Indian visa seekers. For complete details on the new visa application requirements, visit the official US Department of State travel website, which published the September 6, 2025, policy update. To know more about US visa rules, visit TerraTern now!
