The U.S. Department of State announced that beginning Tuesday, September 2, 2025, all H-2 visa applicants must be interviewed.
There will no longer be an interview waiver option for H-2 visa applicants, and all H-2 applicants–including those with prior visas–will need to attend an in-person interview at a consular section worldwide.
These changes will go into effect with H-2 applicants beginning their application process on or after August 28.
The Mission Mexico will open nine consular locations to accommodate H-2 visa appointments: Monterrey, Tijuana, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Hermosillo, Nogales and Ciudad Juarez.
Mexico City will have available H-2 appointments beginning in September and Guadalajara will begin in February 2026. Mission Mexico reported that this will require an additional 350,000 interviews in Mexico alone. They encourage all consular locations to be utilized in order to meet the demand.
The H-2B Workforce Coalition, co-chaired by FEWA Chief Operating Officer Arnulfo Hinojosa, sent a letter on Aug. 19 to Secretaries Rubio and Noem asking that this policy be reconsidered for H-2B. The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) sent a letter regarding the reinstatement of the H-2A visa interview waiver.
The coalition is concerned that the State Department’s policy to eliminate interview waivers for many H-2 workers could delay the ability to hire H-2 workers in a timely manner.
We ask that the State Department reinstate its policy of visa waiver interviews for qualifying H-2 workers.