DOS Rule Codifies Post-9/11 Policy Change on Waiver of Nonimmigrant Visa Applicant Interviews
Posted by Jeff Xie on July 09, 2003 at 14:28:09
DEPARTMENT OF STATE 22 CFR Part 41 [Public Notice 4393]
VISAS: Documentation of Nonimmigrants Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as Amended; Personal Appearance AGENCY: Department of State. ACTION: Interim rule with request for comments. ------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: This interim rule brings Department regulations into line with, and allows further expansion of, post-9/11 policy guidance issued
by the Department that has increasingly restricted the number of instances in which the interview of a nonimmigrant visa applicant may be waived. The regulation significantly reduces the number and kind of situations in which the usual requirement that a nonimmigrant visa applicant appear before an officer for a personal interview may be waived by the consular officer, while making express the Department's
authority to set interview policies centrally. The Department is taking this regulatory action in order to further develop the new legal framework necessary to support a series of steps undertaken in order to
more adequately ensure the security and integrity of nonimmigrant visa application and issuance procedures. Upon publication of this rule, certain visa applicants who previously may have had their personal appearance before a consular officer for the purpose of applying for a nonimmigrant visa waived will be required by regulation to make such an appearance to be interviewed. In practice, however, many of these
applicants are already being interviewed, based on internal Department guidance or decisions made at consular posts. DATES: Effective date: This rule is effective August 1, 2003.
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