New Delhi, Sept. 25 -- After the H-1B visa fee hike, another jolt comes for US non-immigrant visas and student visas! The US State Department is rolling out stricter rules for visa interview waivers, commonly known as the dropbox programme, which is likely to impact international students and professionals heading to America. The new will be effective from October 1, 2025 and will sharply limit who can bypass in-person interviews.

Under the new rules, most nonimmigrant visa applicants - including minors under 18 and seniors over 79 - will now typically need to appear for an in-person interview at the US embassy or consulate.

The interview waiver will remain available only to a limited group:

To qualify for the waiver, applicants must a...