Consular processing can be more complicated than visa applications these days and that is quite unfortunate. The question of where the best place to pursue a visa interview to consular process a B-1/B-2, P-1 or O-1 visa depends primarily on the answer to four questions

What are the four questions to determine where to consular process P-1, O-1 or B-1/B-2 visa application?

1. What country is the foreign national from and are they currently located in that country?

2. What visa category is the foreign national applying for?

3. What countries can the applicant travel to without a visa?

4. What countries can the applicant travel to and receive a visa upon arrival?

What country is the foreign national from and are currently located in this country?

When a foreign national applies for a visa where they were born or have permanent residence, there are two distinct and helpful advantages over other options. 

For one, there is no need to deal with the question if the consulate accepts visa applications for third country nationals. There are many consulates that will not accept interviews for persons not a citizen or permanent resident of the country, or, they will have a calendar for set dates that are much further away. 

Second, persons that apply for visas in their home country may be eligible for visa interview waivers( please reference - https://www.sherrodsportsvisas.com/interview-waiver). This would allow them to skip the interview process and send their passport into the consulate to be processed without an interview, which saves time. 

Every consulate is different when it comes to both accepting third country applicants and granting visa interview waivers. We maintain a list of information as we gather it at this link https://www.sherrodsportsvisas.com/consular-visa-processing (please choose data sheet button)

What visa category is the foreign national applying for?

The category that the foreign national is applying for will impact the interview schedule timing. In general, visas that come with work authorization come with earlier interview times than visitor visas. This is because there is  a petitioner in the United States involved with visas that come with work authorization such as a P-1 or O-1 visa while the visitor visa is more of a privilege. Please visit www.oaklg.com/appointments to access publicly displayed interview dates by category. 

What countries can the applicant travel to without a visa?

If it is not an option for the applicant to interview or obtain a waiver where they are located, the next best location is a consulate that accepts third country nationals and the applicant can travel without a visa.

We suggest contacting the consulate ahead of time that you think would be ideal and ask if they accept third country nationals for the visa category you are seeking, what the current wait time is for an interview in the desired visa category and if they process expedited requests in your situation. 

What countries can the applicant travel to and receive a visa upon arrival?

If the countries available to the applicant without a visa are not ideal, their next step is to look at countries that offer short-term visas upon arrival. 

For both options, the best place to research which countries are accessible is to visit https://visaguide.world/

Test Case Study Inquiry for Consulate Selection

The embassies are closed for both Belarus and Yemen and interviews are not available. We potentially have athletes from both countries who we need visas for – wanted to confirm if the athletes and cornermen will have to travel to Warsaw and Cairo respectively to process their visas?

Answer to Case Study Questions 

For both countries we used this website to check countries they can travel to and crossed referenced with our research at each consulate (https://www.sherrodsportsvisas.com/consular-visa-processing) and 

https://visaguide.world/visa-free-countries/belarusian-passport/  

Belarus - Singapore may be an option, Warsaw may be a great option too

Yemen - Cairo may not be a great option because they cannot get there without a visa, if they already have a visa then Cairo would be a good option as well. There may be a better country that is more accessible on this list -  https://visaguide.world/visa-free-countries/yemeni-passport/ - such as Qatar and Malaysia