Parents applying for a US visa on behalf of their children cannot attend the consular interview alone, not even if the child is a newborn.
“Applying for a minor’s U.S. visa? Whether your child is a newborn or almost 18, they must appear in person for the consular interview,” the embassy posted. “This is a reminder for parents and guardians: the in-person consular interview is mandatory at every age.”
Why the US embassy felt the need to clarify this
The requirement itself is not new. It traces back to a US Department of State policy change announced on 18 September 2025 and made effective 1 October 2025, which eliminated the previous age-based exemptions from the interview requirement. Under the prior rules, applicants under 14 and over 79 had generally been exempt from attending an in-person interview. That exemption was removed for nearly all visa categories.
What appears to have prompted this specific clarification, nearly a year after the underlying rule changed, is that outdated information continues to circulate. Multiple visa consultancy websites and immigration guides, some updated as recently as mid-2026, still advise parents that “children under 14 don’t need to attend an interview if parents have valid US visas,” or that “infants and very young children” are “often not required to attend interviews or biometrics.” That guidance reflects rules that no longer apply, and the embassy’s video appears aimed directly at correcting exactly this kind of persistent misinformation before it causes appointment problems for families.
What is the current interview requirement for minors?
What is the current US visa interview requirement for children?
Since 1 October 2025, all US nonimmigrant visa applicants, regardless of age, generally require an in-person interview with a consular officer. This includes infants, toddlers and teenagers. The only interview waiver exception that survived the 2025 policy change applies to adult renewal applicants aged 18 or older, renewing the same B-1, B-2 or B1/B2 visa category within 12 months of the prior visa’s expiry, where that prior visa was issued at full validity. Because that exception is explicitly restricted to applicants who are at least 18 years old, it does not apply to minors under any circumstance, regardless of the parents’ own visa status or renewal eligibility.
The rule exists because a consular officer must physically observe every visa applicant before a visa can be issued, a requirement the embassy described as one of the most consequential steps in the entire visa application process, tied to the integrity of the consular process itself rather than to any discretionary judgement about a specific child.
What this means in practice for Indian parents
Anyone scheduling a US visa appointment for a minor, whether a newborn, a young child, or a teenager approaching 18, should plan for the child to be physically present at the consular interview window. A parent or guardian cannot fulfil this requirement on the child’s behalf, regardless of the parents’ own visa history or status. Age is not a valid basis to skip the in-person interview under the current rules.
This has practical scheduling consequences that families may not anticipate. Appointment slots must accommodate the child’s actual presence, which matters for infants and very young children in particular, where parents may need to plan around feeding schedules, nap times, or general appointment-day logistics in a way that would not apply to an adult-only interview. Families applying for visas for multiple children of different ages should expect each child to be individually observed by the consular officer during the same or a coordinated appointment, not represented collectively through the parents’ presence alone.
Why this is easy to get wrong
The confusion is understandable given how the rules have shifted. Before October 2025, an under-14 exemption genuinely existed, and many of the visa guides, consultancy websites and even some immigration advisers who built their advice around that earlier rule have simply not updated their guidance in the nearly a year since. A parent researching the process today, particularly one relying on older blog posts, cached guidance, or advice from someone who last applied for a child’s visa before the rule changed, could easily arrive at their appointment expecting to interview alone on the child’s behalf.
For families in India applying on behalf of children who may themselves eventually join the diaspora in Australia, the UK, the UAE, Canada or elsewhere via family reunification, or who are travelling to visit relatives already settled abroad, getting this specific detail wrong can mean an appointment that cannot proceed as scheduled, forcing a family to reschedule and lose their existing slot in an already constrained appointment system.
What parents applying for a child’s US visa need to know
Does my newborn really need to attend a US visa interview in person?
Yes. The US Embassy in India has explicitly confirmed that newborns are included in the mandatory in-person interview requirement, with no age-based exemption currently in effect for minors of any age.
Is there any way for a very young child to be exempted from attending?
No. The only interview waiver category that survived the October 2025 policy change is restricted to adult renewal applicants aged 18 or older renewing the same B-1, B-2 or B1/B2 category within 12 months of a prior full-validity visa’s expiry. This exception explicitly does not extend to minors under any circumstance.
Does the child need to actively participate in the interview, or just be present?
The requirement is that a consular officer must be able to physically see and observe the applicant. Specific interview conduct, including how much a very young child is expected to actively participate versus simply be present, is at the discretion of the consular officer conducting the interview.
I read online that children under 14 are exempt. Why does that guidance still exist?
That guidance reflects rules that applied before 1 October 2025 and has not been updated by the source publishing it. The US Embassy’s 14 August clarification exists specifically because this kind of outdated information continues to circulate nearly a year after the underlying rule changed.
Do I need to schedule a separate appointment for each child, or can siblings be scheduled together?
Appointment scheduling logistics for multiple children should be confirmed directly through the official US visa appointment system for India. The core requirement is that every individual applicant, regardless of age, must be observed by a consular officer, which families should factor into how they plan appointment timing for multiple children.
