Kyiv: the O-1 / EB-1 talent-visa interview

Who uses this consulate

How the consular process works

O-1 is a nonimmigrant visa: after the I-129 petition is approved you file DS-160, pay the fee and book a consular-section interview. EB-1 is the immigrant path: after the I-140 is approved the case either goes through the NVC to an immigrant-visa interview (DS-260), or you adjust status inside the US (I-485) with no consulate at all. Some applicants file as third-country nationals (TCN) - outside their country of citizenship.

Official State Department numbers for this post

FAQ

Can I interview here as a third-country national?

Many nonimmigrant visas (including O-1) can be applied for as a TCN - a third-country national - but booking and slot availability depend on the post and current policy. This is a common community scenario; always verify on ustraveldocs and travel.state.gov.

What if documents are requested again?

Answer each request separately through the channel it arrived on, keeping copies of what you send. Members have seen the same document requested twice - that is not always a sign of a problem with the case.

What is the difference between the O-1 and EB-1 interview?

O-1 is a nonimmigrant visa: you file DS-160 and attend a consular-section interview. EB-1 is immigrant: after the I-140 is approved the case goes to the NVC, you file DS-260 and attend an immigrant-visa interview (or adjust status inside the US via I-485, without a consulate).

From community practice

• Field chats advise gathering evidence for a specific criterion from the start, rather than bolting it onto the petition at the last moment.

• The community reminds that the same piece of evidence cannot be counted under several criteria at once - the officer expects separate evidence for each.

• Premium processing speeds up adjudication but does not raise the chance of approval - the community repeats this constantly: evidence quality decides, not speed.

Distilled from public community chats - observations, not legal advice.

From community discussions

• «An observation from real stories: they ask about articles - dates, journals, topics, the journals' subject areas. There's a practice of asking with a deliberately wrong answer baked in: "You had an article in journal X in 2025, right? Correct?" No, not correct, and that's a little trap. Advice: journals and articles - everything should roll right off your tongue.»

  Oleh · from public community chats

• «You can own 100% of the company, but you can't be its sole employee - you can't hire yourself. The company must have at least one more employee. The short answer is, you can own and incorporate a business on O1 visa, but you cannot work for it as the sole employee. According to U.S. immigration law, there must be a bona fide employee and employer relationship.»

  community member · from public community chats

• «The NOID I got was reasonable in my view, I added everything they asked for (except one patent), including percentiles, comparisons with others, national scales. In the denial they ignored it all. TSC, anonymous officer.»

  Aleksey · from public community chats

Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.

Other interview posts

• Warsaw - Poland
• Almaty - Kazakhstan
• Astana - Kazakhstan
• Moscow - Russia
• Yerevan - Armenia
• Belgrade - Serbia
• Istanbul - Turkey
• Tashkent - Uzbekistan
• Tbilisi - Georgia
• Prague - Czechia
• Bishkek - Kyrgyzstan
• Paris - France
• Ankara - Turkey
• Jerusalem - Israel
• Montreal - Canada
• Malta - Malta