The United States will waive of in-person interviews for H-1B and other visas until 2022.

To help shorten visa wait times, the US will allow consular officials to forego in-person interviews for H-1B and other specified non-immigrant visa applicants through next year, the State Department announced on Thursday.

"The Covid-19 epidemic resulted in significant reductions in the department's visa processing capacity," the department said in a statement. "As global travel recovers, we are taking these interim steps to demonstrate our commitment to securely and quickly reducing visa wait times while keeping national security as our top concern."

Consular officers will now be temporarily authorized to waive in-person interviews for nearly a dozen visa categories, including Persons in Specialized Occupations (H-1B visas), student visas, temporary agricultural and non-agricultural workers, student exchange visitors, and athletes, artists, and entertainers.

The entire list of visa types for which the appointment may now be waived is available here.

The State Department also announced that it has extended indefinitely the authorization to forgo the in-person interview for applicants renewing a visa in the same visa class within 48 months of the expiration of the previous visa.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the US State Department suspended all normal visa services in most countries worldwide in March 2020. While the services have been restored with limited capacity and on a priority basis, there are still months-long wait times for certain visa appointments due to a significant backlog.