Body
Monday, September 8, 2025
On September 6, the U.S. Department of State (DoS) made changes to where visa applicants can schedule interview appointments. Students should schedule a visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate of their country of nationality or residence. For countries that do not have routine visa operations, DoS has where applicants can attend a visa interview.
Students travelling internationally during the winter break and need to renew their F-1/J-1 visas should consider the following when making travel plans:
- Currently scheduled visa appointments will generally not be cancelled.
- If applying for a U.S. visa based on your country of residence, be prepared to demonstrate your residency in that country.
- Individuals may experience more difficulty and significantly longer visa appointment wait times if they chose to apply for the U.S. visa in a country that is not their country of nationality, residence, or designated embassy/consulate.
Specific information about the visa change can be found in our article on . For additional information about travel visit .
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Admitted graduate and undergraduate students who have received LSU I-20s/DS-2019s for the fall 2025 semester should have received an email from International Student Services with updated information about the DS-160 visa application and visa interviews. See the attachments (below) for the contents of that email.
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Great news! The U.S. Department of State is resuming visa interviews. Click here for the press release.
We do not know the details of when visa interview appointments will become available, but we encourage you to start checking the embassy or consulate’s website to see if visa interview appointments are available. Due to the additional screening of social media (see the press release for more details), we anticipate delays in visa processing when the visa interviews resume.
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
With the current concerns regarding U.S. immigration policy changes, conflicts, and other challenges in the world, International Student Services (ISS) and the Global Community Center (GCC) want to remind you that we are here to support you along with many other offices on campus.
The GCC and ISS would like to make you aware of resources available to you on campus:
- LSU C.A.R.E. team supports students with a variety of concerns. To submit a C.A.R.E. report about yourself of someone else, visit lsu.edu/student-affairs/lsu-cares.php
- LSU’s Mental Health Services supports students’ personal growth and development, addresses psychological needs, and supports the pursuit of academic goals. To learn about the services offered, click here. For additional information about who to contact for a mental health emergency, click here.
- The LSU food pantry offers free, supplemental groceries to students. For information about the food pantry, click here.
- GCC staff members are confidential supporters. Confidential supporters are trained faculty or staff member support students, find resources, and walk through students’ rights and options. To learn more about confidential supporters, please click here.
- Wellness coaching is available to students: lsu.edu/shc/wellness/index.php
- Additional resources can be found at lsu.edu/global-engagement/students/campus/resources.php.
Please contact the GCC or ISS if you need support during these difficult times.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
We wanted to share some concerning developments regarding international students. We have been informed that, effective May 27, 2025, the Department of State has instructed embassies to pause new student visa interviews.
There is limited information at this time about the duration of this pause or how it will impact students currently waiting for visa appointments.
While no official notice has been issued yet, we anticipate more information will become available in the coming days. The Department of State has provided the following guidance:
"Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued."
We were already concerned about existing delays in visa appointment scheduling and approval times, and this new development has further intensified those concerns. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and share additional information as it becomes available. For now, we ask that you remain calm and patient as we learn more about this new guidance. Please continue to check your email for updates.
You can find the CNN article here.