US B1/B2 Visa Interview Preparation from the UAE

Routine US visa services in the UAE are suspended, so the first question is no longer how to prepare for the interview — it is where your interview can be held at all. Once that is settled, everything turns on one legal test: you are presumed to be an intending immigrant until you satisfy the consular officer that you are not.

This guide is for a UAE resident preparing a B1/B2 application. It sets out what the official notices say, in their own words, and what is still unknown. The rules tightened noticeably through 2025 and 2026, so much of what someone who applied a few years ago will tell you is no longer true.

Before anything else: routine US visa services in the UAE are suspended

On 1 March 2026 the US Mission to the UAE published a notice headed Important Notice: Suspension of Routine Visa Services. It is three sentences long: “Routine U.S. visa services in the UAE are currently suspended. If your visa appointment was cancelled, we will contact you to reschedule when routine services resume. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”

The Mission’s visa page puts it in operational terms: “While the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate in Dubai are open, routine visa processing is not available in the United Arab Emirates at this time.” Both posts are covered, both remain open, and no end date is given.

What the notice does not say matters as much as what it does. It names no exempt visa categories, describes no emergency or expedited route at either post, and gives no resumption date. We are not going to fill those gaps with guesses, and neither should any agent quoting you a date.

Two official pages appear, at first reading, to contradict the suspension:

• The Mission’s visa page still carries its standing appointment-release schedule — appointments released “every Friday morning between 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., with the exception of U.S. and UAE holidays” — in a block directly below the suspension notice. At least one of the two is out of date.
• The State Department’s list of posts that process nonimmigrant visas still lists both United Arab Emirates — Abu Dhabi and United Arab Emirates — Dubai, and still shows Dubai as the designated post for Iranian nationals.

Read both pages on the day you act rather than relying on this one, and confirm with the Mission’s customer service line before you pay anything. The number it publishes for callers in the UAE is +971 4 205 5981.

Where a UAE resident applies now

The Mission’s instruction is explicit: “Applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas should schedule their visa interview appointments at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence or nationality.”

That is the State Department’s worldwide rule, not a local workaround. Its guidance page, Adjudicating Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) Applicants in Their Country of Residence, is stamped “Last Updated: July 15, 2026” and introduces the instruction as taking effect “Effective immediately”. It adds a second limb that matters here: “Nationals of countries where the U.S. government is not conducting routine nonimmigrant visa operations must apply at the designated embassy or consulate, unless their residence is elsewhere.”

Three conditions are attached, and each has teeth for someone living in Dubai:

1. Residence must be provable. “Applicants must be able to demonstrate residence in the country where they are applying, if the place of application is based on their residency.” Your Emirates residence visa, tenancy and employment are that proof.
2. Applying elsewhere is harder, and the fee is gone either way. Those who schedule outside their country of nationality, residence or designated post “might find that it will be more difficult to qualify for the visa”, fees “will not be refunded and cannot be transferred”, and they “should expect to wait significantly longer for an appointment.”
3. An appointment you already hold probably stands. “Existing nonimmigrant visa appointments will generally not be cancelled”, though applicants are notified where a post does cancel them.

The exceptions are narrow: the guidance does not apply to A, G, C-2, C-3 or NATO visas, to diplomatic or official-type visas, or to travel covered by the UN Headquarters Agreement, and “Rare exceptions may also be made for humanitarian or medical emergencies or foreign policy reasons.” A tourist trip is none of those.

So for a third-country national in Dubai: the UAE is your country of residence but is not running routine services, which in practice points to your country of nationality — and the file is the same either way. Our United States visit visa page sets out what we prepare and check.

The legal test, in its own words

The presumption is in section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Foreign Affairs Manual restates it for consular officers at 9 FAM 302.1-2(A): “An applicant (other than a H-1B, L, and V applicant) is presumed to be an immigrant until they establish to your satisfaction that they are entitled to nonimmigrant status.”

Note the direction of the burden: the officer need not find a reason to refuse you, you must give them a reason to be satisfied. What satisfies them is what travel.state.gov calls ties: “Ties are the various aspects of your life that bind you to your home country.” It adds a point UAE residents often miss: “Visa applicants must qualify based on their ties abroad/to their home country, rather than assurances from U.S. family and friends.” An invitation letter from a cousin in Texas is not evidence about you.

The DS-160

The form is the Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-160, completed at ceac.state.gov. It is long, it times out, and it is the document the officer reads before you sit down. The Department is specific about what you bring: “You are not required to bring your entire application. For your interview, you are required to bring your confirmation page with your application ID number on it so we can retrieve your DS-160.”

For applications submitted after 1 April 2010 a post can reopen a DS-160 for correction: retrieve it with your application ID, answer the verification questions, then contact the post. Do not start a second form and hope the first is ignored. Answer the employment and travel history sections against your records rather than your memory — an inconsistency between the DS-160 and your passport stamps is the most avoidable problem in the interview.

The fee

The application fee for a B1/B2 is USD 185, listed on the visa services fee page under “Non-petition-based nonimmigrant visa (except E)”, unchanged since 17 June 2023. It is “non-refundable”; the US Mission to the UAE adds “non-refundable and non-transferable”. You cannot pass a paid receipt to a family member or move it to another country’s post. How long a receipt stays valid for scheduling is not published — check your own scheduling account rather than a blog.

Who has to attend an interview

Almost everyone, now. The interview waiver update of 18 September 2025, effective 1 October 2025, states that “All nonimmigrant visa applicants, including applicants under the age of 14 and over the age of 79, will generally require an in-person interview”. The US Mission to the UAE puts it plainly: “Starting September 1, 2025, children of ALL ages must appear for the interview to obtain a visa in any visa category, including for renewals.”

A narrow waiver survives for a B-1/B-2 renewal applied for within twelve months of the previous visa’s expiry, where that visa was issued for full validity and the applicant is 18 or over, applies in their country of nationality or residence, has never been refused a visa and has no apparent ineligibility. Even then the officer can require an interview. If you last renewed without one, assume you will attend this time.

Check your passport against Proclamation 10998

Presidential Proclamation 10998, effective 1 January 2026, suspends or limits entry and visa issuance for nationals of 39 countries, and for individuals applying on travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority. Those affected “may still submit visa applications and attend scheduled interviews, but they may be ineligible for visa issuance or admission.” The list changes — read it officially before you pay anything.

What to bring, and what you cannot bring

A passport valid at least six months beyond your intended stay; the DS-160 confirmation page; and the fee receipt where you had to pay first. Your photograph is uploaded with the DS-160 — bring a print meeting the published photo standard only if the upload failed.

Security rules cause more missed appointments than any document problem. Broadly: arrive no more than 15 minutes early, bring documents in a folder rather than a bag, and leave laptops and phones behind where you can — bags of any size, including handbags, are prohibited at every post and are not storable at the checkpoint. Parking, entrances, escorts and permitted items differ by mission, so read the page of the post you are actually attending.

If you are refused

A refusal under 214(b) means you did not overcome the presumption of immigrant intent by showing “strong ties to your home country that will compel you to leave the United States”. The State Department is unambiguous about what follows: “There is no appeal process.” You may reapply where your circumstances have materially changed, but with a new form, a new fee and a new appointment. Reapplying with the same file a fortnight later is spending USD 185 to be told the same thing.

A different outcome is administrative processing under section 221(g): the officer could not establish eligibility on the day and has asked for more. No fixed timeframe is published — “the duration of the administrative processing will vary based on the individual circumstances of each case” — and you have one year from the refusal date to supply what was requested.

What B1 and B2 actually cover

B-1, business: consulting with business associates; attending a scientific, educational, professional or business convention; settling an estate; negotiating a contract. B-2, tourism and visits: tourism; vacation; visiting friends or relatives; medical treatment; unpaid amateur participation in musical or sports events; and a short recreational course not for degree credit.

If what you intend to do is not on those lists — paid work above all — the B visa is the wrong application. And a visa is not entry: it “allows a foreign citizen to travel to a U.S. port-of-entry… and request permission to enter”, and Customs and Border Protection decides admission and its length at the border. The visa services hub covers the other destinations, several of which are unaffected by any of this.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a US visitor visa interview in the UAE right now?

Not a routine one. The US Mission to the UAE published a notice on 1 March 2026 stating that routine US visa services in the UAE are currently suspended, and its visa page says routine visa processing is not available in the UAE at this time. Both posts remain open. No resumption date has been published.

So where do I apply instead?

At the US Embassy or Consulate in your country of residence or nationality. The State Department adds that nationals of countries where routine operations are not running must apply at the designated post unless their residence is elsewhere, which for a third-country national in Dubai usually points to the country of nationality.

Will my existing appointment be cancelled?

The State Department’s guidance says existing nonimmigrant visa appointments will generally not be cancelled, and that applicants are notified where a post does cancel them. The UAE notice says that if your appointment was cancelled, the Mission will contact you to reschedule when routine services resume.

How much is a US visitor visa in 2026?

USD 185 for a B1/B2, per the published fee schedule, unchanged since 17 June 2023, and non-refundable and non-transferable. A separate USD 250 “visa integrity fee” has been discussed publicly but does not appear on the official schedule, and we have not been able to confirm it as a live charge.

Can my child get a visa without attending an interview?

No. Since 1 October 2025 all applicants, including those under 14 and over 79, generally require an in-person interview, and the US Mission to the UAE states that children of all ages must appear, including for renewals.

Can I renew my B1/B2 without an interview?

Only in a narrow case: within twelve months of the previous visa’s expiry, where that visa was issued for full validity, you are 18 or over, you apply in your country of nationality or residence, you have never been refused a visa, and there is no apparent ineligibility. The officer may still require an interview.

Is there an appeal if I am refused?

No. The State Department states plainly that there is no appeal process. You may reapply if your circumstances have materially changed, with a new form, a new fee and a new appointment.