U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe

Renew Nonimmigrant Visa Without Interview

You may be eligible to renew your U.S. nonimmigrant visa by mailing your application to the U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe without the need to book an appointment to appear for an in-person interview.

Read on to learn about eligibility requirements, how to submit your application, and how to pay for your visa application.

Some applicants who renew through this option will be selected at random to appear for an in-person interview.

Eligibility:

• You have had the same class of U.S. nonimmigrant visa that you are applying for this time, and that visa of the same class expired less than four years ago.
• You have never been refused a U.S. Visa, or if you were refused, you were issued a visa since the refusal.
• You reside in Zimbabwe.
• Your most recent visa was not stolen or lost.
• Children who were less than 14 years old at last visa do not qualify, even if they are renewing the same class of visa.
• If you do not meet these requirements, please visit the U.S. Embassy to Zimbabwe’s Visa website to schedule an appointment.
• Note that L category applicants are not eligible to renew through this option. They must appear in person.

Note that if you are applying with a family or group, only the applicants who meet the above criteria may renew through this process. The other applicants will have to book an appointment for interview.

Applicants that do not meet the above eligibility criteria will be returned to you. You will need to go to the Visa website to schedule an appointment. This includes if we receive applications from people who are not in Zimbabwe (for example, passport has no entry stamp for Zimbabwe, or the courier return envelope is addressed outside of Zimbabwe).

How to Submit Your Application:

Please send the following via courier–such as DHL, FedEx, or Cheetah–to the

U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe

Consular Section

2 Lorraine Dr.

Bluffhill, Harare, Zimbabwe

1. For each applicant, a barcode confirmation of the completed DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application that you submitted online.

2. For each applicant, a 5x5cm photo that has been taken in the past 6 months. Applicants who reuse an old photo will not be processed. Photos must meet the visa application requirements described at travel.state.gov.

3. For each applicant, a valid passport

4. A return courier envelope with the return shipping label filled in. You can submit one envelope for a family or small group.

The sender address for your return label is the same U.S. Embassy address above that you shipped to. Fill in your return address.

We will not fill in a shipping label for you. If we receive a return envelope without the return label pre-filled, we will have no way to return your documents and you will need to go online to make a nonimmigrant visa interview appointment at the U.S. Embassy to Zimbabwe’s Visa website.

If we receive a return courier envelope with an address outside of Zimbabwe, we will not process your application and you will need to go to the Visa website to schedule an appointment.

5. A receipt proving you have pre-paid for the return shipping by courier.
6. Only the following classes of applicants need to submit additional documentation:
   • Cruise workers (C1 and D applicants), please submit a copy of your currect letter of employment
   • J visa applicants, please submit your signed DS-2019
   • Returning students, please submit your I-20 and proof of SEVIS payment.
   • H category applicants should submit their approved petition and job offer.

If a consular officer wants to see additional documentation for any class of visa applicant, we will schedule you for an interview at the U.S. Embassy.

We will return incomplete applications to you without processing them, including if you do not send the additional documents requested in requirement 6 above. You will need to make a visa appointment online.

How To Pay:

We cannot begin processing your visa application until the nonimmigrant visa fee has been paid for each application. Therefore, someone needs to visit the U.S. Embassy in Harare Monday or Wednesday afternoons from 1 to 3PM, or Monday and Wednesday mornings from 8 to 10:30AM to pay for your applications. Note that during the mornings there could be long queues. We are closed on U.S. and Zimbabwe public holidays.

You may have a trusted person pay on your behalf. They must have a printed copy of the bio-information from your government-issued ID, such as National ID card, passport, driver’s license, or birth certificate for each applicant. They will not receive a receipt; your copy of the receipt will be sent back to you in your prepaid envelope.

We will send you an email when we receive your application and payment has been made. We will also email you when we give your application back to the courier service for return to you. We will use the email address you submitted in your online visa application.

Our normal processing time is five working days from receiving your complete application. This does not include the time it takes the courier to ship the package to/from the Consular section.

The U.S. Embassy assumes no risk or responsibility for documents sent to us or returned to you via courier service. Once your documents have left the U.S. Embassy, please inquire with your courier service should you need to track your documents.

If you have any questions, please email ConsularHarare@State.gov.

Thank you for considering renewal of your visa using this mail-in process.