Could not having an interview cause a SCEA applicant to be deferred?

I applied SCEA to Harvard in late October and haven’t been offered an interview yet. I’ve read that it’s in the hands of local alumni, if there are any near me, so I’m not worried. I know I probably won’t be accepted anyway, and this won’t be the cause of my deferment/rejection, but I’m just curious – If an applicant is competitive but hasn’t yet been able to arrange an interview for the early round, would that be a reason to defer the applicant to the regular round, so that an interview might be able to be arranged later?

I have heard lot of people admitted with no interview at all.

No. Pure and simple.

Good to know. Thanks for the responses!

I’ve also heard that applicants with glorious interview reports were rejected while those applicants with negative interview reports were admitted. So what does that say about the overall value of these interviews? I’m sure, of course, that the odds of being admitted are probably better with those glorious reports than those “don’t admit this candidate” reports. My point is, don’t sweat about the interview.