Official US Visa Application Centers in several countries recently released updated eligibility criteria for Dropbox visa renewals. These changes came without official notice from the US State Department.
Dropbox renewals provide a method of renewing a nonimmigrant US visa without requiring an interview. This greatly reduces processing times and alleviates often lengthy interview waiting periods.
This change currently affects:
Under the new eligibility criteria, applicants hoping to have their interview requirement waived must meet the following:
This marks a significant change from the previous criteria, which allowed Dropbox appointments within 48 months of past visa expiry and applications based on prior visa approval of any class. Now, applicants must apply for the same visa they previously held within 12 months of expiry.
Reports have already been made of Dropbox applicants being turned away from their appointments in India because they no longer meet the above criteria. If you no longer fulfill any of the above requirements, an interview will be needed to garner visa approval.
With visa centers already suffering from lengthy wait times, we can expect this change to only exacerbate the problem further.
These changes to the Dropbox renewal criteria came without warning from the US State Department, yet have already been implemented by several countries. Applicants for nonimmigrant visas seeking Dropbox renewal should carefully review the updated criteria to ensure their eligibility.
Those who are no longer eligible under the update will need to undergo the interview process to renew their nonimmigrant US visa.
