Third Country Visa Application

On September 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of State announced that third (3rd) country visa processing will no longer be allowed, and all visa applicants must return to their home country or country of residence to apply for visa stamps. The announcement took effect on September 6, 2025, however it stated that “existing nonimmigrant visa appointments will generally not be cancelled.” If a previously scheduled 3rd country visa appointment is cancelled, the applicant will be required to travel to the home country or country of residence to apply for the visa before returning to the U.S.

Stanford [Students/Scholars] who desired to travel to a 3rd country for work or vacation purposes and wanted to apply for a U.S. visa in that 3rd country while visiting for work or vacation will be unable to do so. 

It is very likely that the wait time for a visa appointment will lengthen considerably. Bechtel strongly recommends you make visa appointments now for the Winter Closure if you will be traveling internationally over Winter Closure and need a new visa stamp on which to return.

Persons from countries in which the U.S. does not have routine nonimmigrant processing, and do not have another country of residence, should refer to this chart for visa processing locations:

Designated Locations for Nonimmigrant Visa Processing