To get a visa to the United States — tourist, study, or any other visa type — you cannot avoid an interview with a visa officer. Previously, you could sign up for most embassies either through https://portal.ustraveldocs.com/ or through https://ais.usvisa-info.com. However, now the situation is changing. For example, the U.S. Embassy in Belgium has switched to working with www.usvisaappt.com, and the Embassy in Malaysia uses the www.usvisascheduling.com portal. So far, the novelties are not very convenient: sites are often overloaded and freeze, you have to look for which of the sites is relevant for your country, repeatedly double-check the information.
Time will tell how the situation will change and whether the mistakes will be corrected.
