Effective immediately, the Department of State has updated its instructions for all nonimmigrant visa applicants scheduling visa interview appointments:

• Applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas (NIV) should schedule their visa interview appointments at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their country of nationality or residence.

• Nationals of countries where the U.S. government is not conducting routine nonimmigrant visa operations must apply at the designated embassy or consulate, unless their residence is elsewhere.  

More information can be found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/adjudicating-nonimmigrant-visa-applicants-in-their-country-of-residence-sep-6-2025.html 

Executive Summary. H.R.1, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" signed into law on July 4, 2025, imposes a new "visa integrity fee" to be paid upon the issuance of any nonimmigrant visa. For fiscal year 2025, the fee will be set at the greater of $250 or an amount established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through regulation, with automatic annual adjustments for inflation beginning in fiscal year 2026. The fee may not be waived or reduced, and all revenues - except those reimbursed under specific conditions - are to be deposited into the U.S. Treasury’s general fund. A reimbursement can be authorized for nonimmigrants who comply fully with the terms of their visa, including avoiding unauthorized employment, and who either depart the United States promptly at the end of their authorized stay or obtain a lawful extension or adjustment of status. 

More information can be found here: https://www.nafsa.org/regulatory-information/budget-law-imposes-nonimmigrant-visa-integrity-fee 

Make sure to:

• Set your accounts to public. Keeping anything public, will cause an administrative processing action and cause more time for a result.

• Make sure to consider all media accounts - Linkedin, Line, RenRen, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc.

• Look through your accounts for the last 5-10 years. This is how far back they go.

No social media account?

Any student/scholar without social media accounts in the last 5 years to:

1. consider all possibilities to ensure they're not overlooking something (e.g., LinkedIn)

2. be prepared to clearly articulate to the Consular Officer WHY they don't use social media. 

   • Consular Officers treat the interview like a human lie detector test, so this should just be another aspect of that.

   •  If the applicant can openly and honestly explain the reasons they don't use social media, they'll probably be fine. 

   • Creating an account just for the interview is deceptive, and if questioned about it, would put the student in the difficult position of having to lie or admit they tried to deceive the Consulate by creating an account, either of which would make them uncredible. 

Honesty is the best policy

On June 4, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that banned 12 countries either full or limited admission to the U.S. 7 other countries have been partially restricted or limited entry to the U.S.

The full or limited admission countries include: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen 

Countries with partially restricted or limited entry include: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. 

You can read more about this executive order and the specifics for each country here.

From our professional organization NAFSA: Association of International Educators, here are some visa trends and challenges U.S. universities are seeing with African countries.

The high costs associated with visa applications, coupled with the need to demonstrate financial stability and strong ties to their home country, complicate matters for African students where the economic standard is not the same as the U.S. The perception of African countries as high-risk for visa overstays or illegal immigration can result in higher rates of student visa denials.

Consular officers have around 90 seconds to evaluate a visa application and make a determination on the viability of the candidate. Given that all documents are in order, applicants still need to overcome two major prejudices: 

1. Prove that they have sufficient ties to their home, and 

2. Prove that they have sufficient finances to support their studies in the U.S. (by providing a legitimate bank statement, or official sponsorship/scholarship letter). 

The first point is where many visa candidates from Africa fail: convincing the officers that they plan to leave the U.S. after their degree is. African students can take proactive measures to navigate the visa application process more effectively. Demonstrating strong academic potential, financial readiness, and clear intentions to return home after completing their studies can strengthen visa applications from problematic areas.

Visa wait time are another hurdle that African countries often struggle with. The State Department provides a comprehensive list of average wait times for various visa types, and we can see at a glance that Africa has some of the longer wait times for F, M and J categories.

TBD