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

US mission, Tbilisi

Georgia O-1 (DS-160) · EB-1 (DS-260 / I-485)

The US Embassy in Tbilisi is a post in Georgia for talent-visa interviews that Russian-speaking applicants use as third-country nationals.

Tbilisi: appointments and visas issued, State Department data

Next appointment (table of Sep 17, 2026)
O-1 and other petition-based visas (H, L, O, P, Q) - < 0.5 mo; B1/B2 - < 0.5 mo; students F, M, J - < 0.5 mo.
Issued, Mar 2025 - Feb 2026
O-1 - 19 (23); B1/B2 - 8,538 (10,813); EB-1 - 49 (83); EB-2 - 43 (15); all immigrant - 2,485 (3,532). In brackets: the 12 months before (Mar 2024 - Feb 2025).
Immigrant visas (EB-1, EB-2, family)
Processes them for residents of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The immigrant-visa interview in Tbilisi: post rules

Address
29 Georgian-American Friendship Avenue, Didi Dighomi, Tbilisi 0131
Medical exam
In Georgia or Azerbaijan (Baku), with the embassy’s listed doctors; adult exam from USD 220.
Interview language
English or Georgian.
Paying fees at the window
Cash or card, in US dollars or Georgian lari.
Passport and rescheduling
The passport comes back by courier only; support at support-georgia@usvisascheduling.com.
Note
For applicants from Azerbaijan the visa is printed by Friday of the interview week where possible; an Azerbaijani school diploma is verified by the TKTA agency.

Sources, travel.state.gov: Global Visa Wait Times, nonimmigrant issuances, immigrant issuances by post (latest published month: Feb 2026), immigrant-visa posts, nonimmigrant-visa posts, post page of Sep 24, 2026. All read on Oct 11, 2026; month-by-month tables below.

Who uses this consulate

from Belarusfrom Georgiafrom Armeniafrom Russia

Prepare for the interviewHow the O-1 and EB-1 consular process works

Renewing a US visa in Tbilisi

The embassy books nonimmigrant visas in the country of residence or nationality - a Russian needs Georgian residence. The immigrant visa unit handles residents of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Without an interview
With Georgian residence - yes, for B1/B2 under the Sep 18, 2025 rule; without residence, by reports, there is no appointment at all.
Next appointment (State Department, 2026-09-17)
B1/B2 - under 0.5 month; petition-based work visas (H, L, O) - under 0.5 month; students (F, M, J) - under 0.5 month.

Per the embassy and State Department pages

  • The embassy: nonimmigrant visas are booked in the country of residence or nationality; the fee is neither refunded nor transferred.
  • Since Aug 3, 2026 Georgian nationals approved for B1/B2 must post a $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000 bond and get a single-entry 3-month visa. The bond follows nationality, not the post, so it does not apply to Russians with Georgian residence.
  • The next appointment per the State Department table of Sep 17, 2026 is under 0.5 month in every category.

What the chats report: 7 messages on nonimmigrant visas in 4 chats, Jan 1 - Sep 30, 2026

  • In June 2026 members wrote that the VFS visa center in Tbilisi will not book without Georgian residence; in May a member described a refusal where residence was checked three times on the way to the window.
  • EB-1A immigrant cases were assigned to Tbilisi even when one spouse had no residence, and transfer letters to Poland did not help.

Member reports paraphrased without names or quotes, not embassy data. US visa renewal: Warsaw, Astana, Belgrade and Tbilisi compared

What the community reports

Tbilisi is mentioned for visa-free entry for many and logistics; members advise checking timelines and slots in advance. Member observations.

This is community-chat experience, not official data. Verify booking availability and post status on travel.state.gov and ustraveldocs.com.

This embassy's official visas page: ge.usembassy.gov/visas/ - interview booking follows your own post's instructions.

By member reports over 2023-2025: appointment wait about 1 month, administrative processing after the interview 3-6 months. That is the spread of individual cases, not a standard - data for every post.

Procedures that are the same at every post (CEAC statuses, the passport during the check, officers’ manner): the consulates reference.

Official State Department numbers for this post

Next available interview appointment, by table update

Table ofB1/B2F, M, JH, L, O, P, Q
Sep 17, 2026< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo
Jun 18, 2026*< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo
May 18, 2026*< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo
Apr 15, 2026*< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo
Mar 27, 2026*< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo
Jan 14, 2026*< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo< 0.5 mo
Dec 12, 2025*1 mo< 0.5 mo1 mo
Nov 20, 2025*0.5 mo0.5 mo0.5 mo
Oct 22, 2025*< 0.5 mo1 mo1 mo
Sep 17, 2025*1 mo1 mo1 mo
Aug 18, 2025*1 mo0 mo1 mo
May 25, 2025*0 mo0 mo0 mo
Apr 25, 2025*1 mo0 mo0 mo

Source: Global Visa Wait Times (travel.state.gov), "next available appointment" as printed at each monthly update; until mid-2025 the table gave calendar days, later months. * - read from a Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) copy of the same page. We re-read the table every month; next check about Oct 20, 2026.

Mar 2025 - Feb 2026: the post issued 10,527 nonimmigrant and 2,485 immigrant visas.

Nonimmigrant visas issued, by month
MonthTotalB1/B2F-1J-1H-1BL-1O-1
Feb 2026482393214313
Jan 2026484366613812
Dec 202573455718151111
Nov 202576068016211
Oct 20251,012865330624
Sep 20259096997211350
Aug 202570854637241033
Jul 20251,25297010762911
Jun 20251,02678945711013
May 20251,1078937948100
Apr 20259107491421551
Mar 20251,1431,031510100
Immigrant visas issued, by month
MonthTotalFamilyEB-1EB-2EB-3DV
Feb 2026520000
Jan 202637237700
Dec 2025111869409
Nov 202523286720136
Oct 2025420154400252
Sep 2025219108000110
Aug 202520743001162
Jul 2025170473122105
Jun 2025244105960122
May 202514812804312
Apr 2025362203140150
Mar 202533024794043

Columns: the main classes; "Total" includes all others (dependants, crew, diplomatic and other classes). Immigrant: Family = IR, CR and F categories, EB-1/2/3 = employment preferences (EB-3 incl. EW), DV = diversity lottery. Each month links to its State Department report (Excel). Sources: Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance Statistics, Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuance Statistics (travel.state.gov).

From English-speaking community reports (Reddit), October 2025 - October 1, 2026, 17 posts

CR-1, IR-1 and IR-5 - 6 posts, DV-2026 - 5, EB-2 NIW and other EB - 3, B1/B2 - 2, F-1 - 1. Georgian citizens - 2 posts, other nationals - 3, the rest do not state nationality.

  • Third-country nationals: for an EB-2 NIW case moved from the closed embassy in Saudi Arabia, it was 23 days from DQ to the interview letter; the interview on Jul 8, 2026 had one question and a 221(g), the passport was requested 2 days later and the visa issued the day after. An Iraqi with UAE residence was told by the scheduling service that an F-1 in Tbilisi was at his own risk; he was refused, although commenters say others in that situation got the visa.
  • IR-5 for parents (interview Sep 30, 2025): two windows - a document check and the interview itself, three questions; a white 221(g) sheet asking for a new police certificate in the maiden name; the visas were issued on Nov 4, 2025, about 5 weeks later.
  • CR-1 and IR-1 after the pause: interviews in January 2026 ended with a 221(g). At the end of September the embassy replied with a template that cases are reviewed in the order they were refused, and on Sep 30, 2026 one CR-1 applicant received a second-interview invitation.
  • DV-2026: the second interview on Sep 23, 2026 required the passport, financial documents and US housing details, and the officer asked for a US health insurance plan. On Oct 1, 2026 several applicants got their passports back without visas although CEAC showed Issued.
  • B1/B2: an owner of businesses in Georgia and of a US LLC got a 221(g) at a March 2026 interview; the passport and the event invitation were kept.

A retelling of individual stories from public Reddit discussions (read Oct 2, 2026), without names or quotes. These are individual stories, not State Department statistics and not legal advice: official wait times and rules are on travel.state.gov and above on this page.

From Russian-language forum reports (forum.awd.ru), October 2025 - September 2026, 5 posts

1 story and 1 eyewitness note.

  • IR-5 (November 2025): the interview was moved from Warsaw to Tbilisi after a Polish visa refusal; the petitioner was not let into the building, an interpreter booked in advance helped; collecting the passport from the courier agency was difficult.
  • B1/B2, Jun 29, 2026: an eyewitness saw many refusals in line; approved Georgian citizens, he says, were given instructions to post a visa bond, and the passport stayed with its owner.

A retelling of individual stories from public threads of a Russian-language travel forum (read Oct 2, 2026), without usernames, names or quotes. These are individual stories, not State Department statistics and not legal advice: official wait times and rules are on travel.state.gov and above on this page.

FAQ

Where do I do the medical exam for a Tbilisi interview?
By member reports the post accepts an exam done in Tbilisi (or Baku); a Moscow-done one - no. Book the approved clinic in advance, close to your interview date.
Which police certificates are needed after living in Georgia long-term?
Long-term Georgia residents needed both Georgian certificates - the "current" and the "historical" (full-period) one. Request them early and check your case's list against the post instructions.
Small Tbilisi logistics notes members mention
The call center looks a case up by passport number. Members could not pay VFS delivery with a Russian card - have a non-Russian card ready.
How long is the wait for a visa interview in Tbilisi?
By the State Department wait-times table of 2026-09-17: O-1 (H, L, O, P, Q) - < 0.5 mo, B1/B2 - < 0.5 mo, F, M, J - < 0.5 mo. In the 12 published months to Feb 2026 the post issued O-1 - 19, B1/B2 - 8,538. The table is an estimate; actual slots show only in the booking system.
Can I have the EB-1 / EB-2 immigrant-visa interview in Tbilisi?
Yes: the post processes immigrant visas for residents of Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the 12 published months to Feb 2026 it issued EB-1 - 49, EB-2 - 43, all immigrant visas - 2,485. The National Visa Center sets the post and the date; source: the State Department list of immigrant-visa posts, read 2026-10-11.

Interview experience in Tbilisi

Anonymized reports by community members from public chats: month, visa, outcome, officer questions. Personal experience, not a rule and not legal advice.

Based on: 105 anonymised community interview reports · Jan 2023 - Aug 2026 · all consulates

5reports
40%with 221(g)
180median wait, days
Aug 2026latest report
  • EB-1approvedslot: 180 d

    The applicant had the interview in Tbilisi and is now waiting for the visa. The process took about a year, including preparation and submission of the EB1A petition. The interview was successful, and now they are waiting for the visa.

  • O-1refused

    The applicant received two refusals for the O-1 visa in Tbilisi and Warsaw. In Tbilisi, the officer did not understand the documents, while in Warsaw, the refusal was automatic. After that, there was a long interview in Belgrade with administrative processing that has been ongoing for 2.5 years.

  • EB-1221(g)

    The applicant had an interview in Tbilisi. At the first interview, the officer mistakenly refused, not noticing the residence permit. At the second interview, a 221g was issued with a promise that the process would not take more than a week, but a month has already passed.

  • other visarefused

    The applicant attended a B1/B2 visa interview in Tbilisi with her child. The interview was brief with few questions. The visa was not issued, and the reason for refusal is noted on a yellow paper.

  • O-1221(g)passport: 21 d

    The applicant sent passports and documents for the O-1 interview. After 3 weeks of processing, an interview was scheduled. Passports were returned 3 weeks after the interview.

Community questions on the consular stage →

From community practice

  • 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.

  • An RFE is not a denial. Members note that a structured response with additional independent evidence often leads to approval.

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.

Approval stories

Other interview posts

Reference information, not legal advice. Always verify post status, booking and requirements on travel.state.gov.