Zimbabwe And South Africa: New Changes In Us Visa Application Process For Zimbabwean Nationals

Published on September 10, 2025

Recent updates from nan U.S. Embassy successful Zimbabwe person brought important changes to nan visa exertion process for Zimbabwean nationals. These adjustments impact some nonimmigrant and immigrant visa services and person been outlined to guarantee smoother processing and compliance pinch U.S. laws. Here is simply a elaborate overview of nan latest changes that applicants must beryllium alert of erstwhile seeking a U.S. visa.

New Visa Application Locations for Zimbabwean Nationals

Effective immediately, applicants for nonimmigrant visas are required to schedule their visa interviews astatine a U.S. Embassy aliases Consulate wrong their state of nationality aliases residence. Specifically, Zimbabwean nationals applying for nonimmigrant visas must be interviews astatine nan U.S. Consulate successful Johannesburg, South Africa, if they are domiciled successful Zimbabwe. This accommodation arises owed to nan suspension of regular visa services astatine nan U.S. Embassy successful Harare. Nationals of different countries wherever nan U.S. authorities does not behaviour regular nonimmigrant visa operations are besides directed to use astatine designated embassies aliases consulates, unless their residence lies elsewhere.

Residence Requirement for Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants

For applicants who are Zimbabwean nationals domiciled extracurricular of Zimbabwe, it is mandatory that they use for a visa successful their country of residence. These individuals must supply grounds of their residence status successful nan state wherever they are applying. This further measurement ensures that applicants are compliant pinch U.S. migration rules regarding residence requirements for visa issuance.

C1/D Visa Updates

An important update concerns C1/D visas, which are issued to transit and crew members. The validity of these visas has been extended to 24 months, pinch multiple entries allowed during that period. Applicants seeking C1/D visas are now directed to taxable their applications astatine nan U.S. Embassy successful Johannesburg. However, this work remains unavailable astatine nan U.S. Embassy successful Harare, which continues to region its regular visa operations.

Ongoing Pause connected Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Services astatine U.S. Embassy Harare

The U.S. Embassy successful Harare continues to region each regular immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services, isolated from for astir diplomatic and official visas. Zimbabwean nationals domiciled successful Zimbabwe who request a nonimmigrant visa must truthful schedule their appointments astatine nan U.S. Embassy successful Johannesburg unless they person established residence successful different country. This displacement successful operations has been put successful spot owed to nan ongoing challenges astatine nan Harare Embassy, which is incapable to process visa applications arsenic usual.

Social Media Adjustments for F, M, and J Visa Applicants

As portion of ongoing information measures, individuals applying for F, M, aliases J nonimmigrant visas are required to set nan privateness settings connected their social media accounts to “public”. This accommodation will facilitate nan basal vetting process, allowing U.S. authorities to verify applicants’ identity and measure their admissibility nether U.S. law. The move is portion of broader efforts to fortify information and guarantee that visa applicants meet each basal ineligible requirements.

Rescheduling Visa Appointments

For applicants who person already scheduled their visa interviews, it is important to enactment updated connected nan position of their appointments. Information will beryllium provided to applicants erstwhile their interviews tin beryllium rescheduled. Wait times for nonimmigrant visa appointments alteration by location, and applicants who take to use extracurricular of their country of nationality aliases residence whitethorn acquisition importantly longer hold times. Additionally, applicants should beryllium alert that applying from extracurricular of their location state whitethorn make it much challenging to suffice for nan visa. It should besides beryllium noted that visa fees paid for applications extracurricular of an applicant’s country of residence cannot beryllium refunded.

Continuing Services for American Citizens

Despite nan changes to visa services, regular and emergency American Citizen Services astatine nan U.S. Embassy successful Zimbabwe will proceed arsenic usual. American citizens successful Zimbabwe tin still trust connected nan Embassy for consular assistance and different basal services.

The U.S. Department of State’s Commitment to National Security

The Department of State remains committed to upholding nan highest standards of national security and public safety. Through these measures, nan U.S. authorities seeks to forestall overstay and visa misuse, ensuring that nan visa process is not only unafraid but besides adjacent for each applicants. The adjustments made to visa exertion procedures purpose to streamline nan process while maintaining nan U.S.’s beardown committedness to securing its borders and ensuring compliance pinch migration laws.

These updates are captious for Zimbabwean nationals and different applicants who wish to use for a U.S. visa. As changes to nan visa process proceed to evolve, applicants are urged to enactment informed and travel nan caller guidelines carefully. Whether applying for a nonimmigrant aliases immigrant visa, it is basal that individuals comply pinch these updated procedures to guarantee their exertion is processed smoothly and successful compliance pinch U.S. law. Additionally, applicants must set their social media privateness settings and understand nan imaginable implications of applying extracurricular their state of residence.