Ef­fec­tive im­me­di­ate­ly, per­sons seek­ing to re­new their Unit­ed States visas will no longer be re­quired to go through an in­ter­view process, as long as they do not wait a full year to do so.

The an­nounce­ment was made by US Am­bas­sador Joseph Mon­del­lo at the Buc­coo In­te­grat­ed Fa­cil­i­ty, Buc­coo, To­ba­go at 11.30 this morn­ing.

The am­bas­sador said the new pol­i­cy would re­quire re­newed visa ap­pli­cants to sim­ply send in the re­quired doc­u­ments for pro­cess­ing.

He said it would be es­pe­cial­ly ben­e­fi­cial for res­i­dents of To­ba­go, who cur­rent­ly have to trav­el to Trinidad to have the in­ter­view done.

This ap­plies to non-im­mi­grant B1, B2 or B1/B2 tourist visas.

The Re­new­al In­ter­view Waiv­er will be ap­plic­a­ble to those whose visas ex­pired with­in a pe­ri­od of a year from the time they are seek­ing to re­new, or who have visas ex­pir­ing.

Per­sons who wait more than a year from the ex­pi­ra­tion of their visa to seek a re­new­al, will then be re­quired to be in­ter­viewed again.

The in­ter­view process for first-time visa ap­pli­ca­tions has not changed.

The nor­mal pay­ment at Sco­tia­bank will still be re­quired.Fol­low­ing Mon­del­lo's an­nounce­ment, the Em­bassy is­sued the fol­low­ing state­ment:

"U.S. Em­bassy Port of Spain has in­tro­duced a new visa ini­tia­tive – the Re­new­al In­ter­view Waiv­er (RIW) – which cre­ates new con­ve­niences for Trin­bag­o­ni­ans re­new­ing their non-im­mi­grant B1, B2, or B1/B2 “tourist” visas.

“The Re­new­al In­ter­view Waiv­er will es­pe­cial­ly help with the re­new­al of visas for in­di­vid­u­als liv­ing in To­ba­go, as they have tra­di­tion­al­ly had to trav­el to Trinidad us­ing the air and sea bridge,” stat­ed Am­bas­sador Joseph N. Mon­del­lo. “But not hav­ing to sched­ule an in­ter­view to re­new one’s visa rep­re­sents a ben­e­fit and con­ve­nience for all cit­i­zens of Trinidad and To­ba­go.”

The Re­new­al In­ter­view Waiv­er is ap­plic­a­ble to Trin­bag­o­ni­ans whose visas have ex­pired with­in the last year, or who have valid visas that will be ex­pir­ing. First-time ap­pli­cants or those whose visas ex­pired more than a year ago are still re­quired to sched­ule an in­ter­view.

Sim­i­lar to the cur­rent Age In­ter­view Waivers of­fered to those un­der the age of 14 or over the age of 79, ap­pli­cants re­new­ing visas are now re­quired on­ly to com­plete the on­line ap­pli­ca­tion form at https://ais.usvisa-in­fo.com/en-TT/niv/, pay the fee at Sco­tia­bank, and send in the ap­pli­ca­tion pack­et via couri­er. The on­line visa ap­pli­ca­tion will au­to­mat­i­cal­ly ad­vise ap­pli­cants if they qual­i­fy for the In­ter­view Waiv­er, but ap­pli­cants may opt out if their trav­el needs are very ur­gent.

The on­ly doc­u­ments nec­es­sary for the Re­new­al In­ter­view Waiv­er are the ap­pli­ca­tion form, a pass­port pho­to less than six months old, a valid pass­port, and the pre­vi­ous B1/B2 visa. If the pre­vi­ous visa is in an ex­pired pass­port, the ap­pli­cant must send in both the cur­rent and old pass­ports.

For any ques­tions, please email con­sular­POS@state.gov or vis­it our web­site https://tt.usem­bassy.gov/ and Face­book page, https://www.face­book.com/ttusa/."