US expands interview waiver facility for Pakistani visa holders

The United States has announced to expand the interview waiver eligibility for Pakistani citizens renewing B1/B2 tourism and business visas.

According to an official statement issued by the US Mission to Pakistan on Monday, the facility can be availed through the US Embassy in Islamabad and the US Consulate General in Karachi.

It further stated that Pakistani citizens of ages 60 and older whose B1/B2 visas are valid or have expired within the last 48 months are eligible to participate.

The communique added that the "procedural change will improve customer service and enable more efficient processing for renewals of tourism and business visas for qualified and eligible citizens".

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Explaining the process further, it said "potentially eligible applicants with scheduled appointments were contacted directly and informed of the option to submit their applications through this new procedure.

It, however, said that "some eligible visa holders may still be required to appear at the embassy or the Consulate General for interviews after submission of their applications" as required by the US law.

In December last year, the US administration had said it would allow its consular officers to waive in-person interviews for H-1B and other certain non-immigrant visa applicants through next year to help reduce visa wait times.

"The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in profound reductions in the department’s visa processing capacity. As global travel rebounds, we are taking these temporary steps to further our commitment to safely and efficiently reduce visa wait times while maintaining national security as our priority," the US State Department was quoted as saying.