20,000 New Dropbox Appointments Available In India In a welcome move, The US State Department has announced an additional 20,000 dropbox interview waiver appointment slots in various US consulates in India. Do not panic. The last visa I have in my passport is my student visa from college. All US Visa Dropbox Submissions . Sometimes, it can take up to 3 weeks as well. Below is the list of documents that need to be submitted for H1B Dropbox Submission during the appointment : Never give any original documents, except your passport. October 17th, 2022: Below are the updates from the beginning of October until today. It will be of great help to me. Look for the one relevant for H and L Applicants. No specific date or week was stated by them. Hi Kumar It will be my sons first time visa stamping. The US Dept of State announced that they are extending the interview waiver option until Dec 31st, 2023. But dropbox results take anywhere between 4-6 weeks as per few folks here in this forum. It will usually be 6 pages. Currently my younger kid is 7 years old and never had any VISA earlier as she was not born at that time when L1 Visa was approved. I have read that for interview appointments it can be done at the time of biometric appointment by submitting an updated/corrected DS-160 form. I turned in the additional document along with the yellow slip & unstamped passport yesterday at Chennai VAC but didnt include copies of H1B petition and offer letter that they returned. It can take time to complete this form. Are dependent also eligible for drop box? For my own H1b Dropbox slot I am seeing slots only from sep 2023 with nothing earlier. On ustraveldocs it says all the VACs working hours of 10 am to 4 pm: https://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/en/step-5#application-centers. H1B Visa. Hi I have been trying to schedule H1B dropbox appointment dates for the last 7 days. You need to answer them correctly based on your situation. when they do is it also available for reschedule ? I know these are commonly listed on this website but Im looking for experience from folks who got it approved. You can check the timeline section to get detailed links and, official sources, and news screenshots in the next section. Hi Kumar, I am trying to look for visa dates in India for dropbox and it says No OFC dates available. See the below screenshot. They will do Visa interviews on Saturdays across all consulates and embassy, Temporary Staff from Washington DC from Jan to March 2023 to clear the backlogs, Permanent increase in the number of consular officers assigned to India. US Consulates continue to be operating in a limited fashion, with no changes in the overall situation. DO NOT cancel appointment or restart the process. If you are from other country, you should check your local US Consulate Website for updated information. CEAC Website, Errors Info. Visa Fridays: Below are the key updates from Visa Fridays organized by US Embassy in India on Jun 17th, 2022. Yes, they have opened slots for first time B1/B2 applicants and started interview from September 1st week of 2022. This changed to VAC for dropbox/interview waiver appointments after Nov 28th, 2021. more than 300 days for interview waiver appointment in Chennai. Some of you would have scheduled US Visa interview appointments scheduled in India, due to the unprecedented COVID-19 Situation in India and across the globe, US State Department continues to give news alerts on their website, Twitter, emails, etc. All they ask for are questions about your visa expiration date and general criteria. Thanks. meaning? You probably need to carry all updated documents , otherwise you will get 221g. I have an approval and since I meet the eligibility for drop box do I still need to go for an interview? Earlier in March, as part of the Visa Fridays Q&A, US Embassy stated the below on. They say that they open appointments on a rolling basis. Well, this keeps changing, very hard to say. H1B Visa is a Nonimmigrant Visa, you need select that in Step 1 and click on continue. No more placeholders slots, you can book appointments far beyond 6 months up to 1.5 years and use the same. This screen is one of the most confusing parts for many. You qualify for the Interview Waiver. guidance given by the Head of US Consulates in India for the rest of 2022 and 2023. January 31st, 2022: Below are the latest updates from the last three weeks until today. A large batch of F1 student appointments will open later in May. If that happens, the dates are not available, thats why. I filled and confirmed my DS-140 as A & B US LLP in the employer field for VISA stamping. Any tips will be helpful. Thanks Kumar, I went for re-interview and it went well. You will be asked a set of questions in a guided wizard format, you need to complete them by selecting the relevant ones as applicable for an H1B visa. No, if your dependents not got visa previously, then they must go with Interview because first time appear for Visa. Could some one please confirm that the Daughter Passport will be Hold at the Kolkata Consulate Office and will be sent back after the In-Person Interview scheduled on 19th September. Trying to book B2 Visa Interview appointments for my parents for Chennai Consulate for few weeks now and all I see are 2024 Dates, which is insane and tells me that the software is broken! You will need to provide proof of the need for an earlier appointment. I am not sure why they asking for re-interview. I had my drop box appointment last week. The guided wizard looks like in the below section screenshots. Not sure. You should arrive at the time of your appointment. In 2021 Jan, her H4 visa got converted to H1B using Change of Status and she changed the employer in 2021 September. Sandeep, We have very less data points as it is very new. I have been trying to book an appointment since a . Gowtham, You only talk about most recent visa stamping as it clearly asks for it. . Lawyer Questions. May 18th, 2022: Below are the latest updates from the last two weeks, until today. Came back to India in June 2018. May 23rd, 2022: Below are the latest updates from the previous week, until today. They have not given exact date when they will open slots for Fall 2022. They are still operating in a limited fashion with limited appointments. They said it can take anywhere from 10 to 30 days to get a passport with a US visa after the submission of documents for B1/B2 renewal. Will I be still eligible for dropbox? Rohit, Usually for kids to apply for interview waiver, the parents both of them should have the visa. We need to wait and see, if this would change in the upcoming days as there are more cases reported now. I am in the same situation. Its been more than 24 hours since I made the payment. For instance, the URLs would look like the below for India & Germany. How did you get the appointments at two different locations? All you can do is wait for the actual passport to come. For the H1B visa renewal does the 48 months eligibility still valid for an interview waiver? are they still eligible for dropbox, pleaseeeeeee answer ?? Does anyone know if I can update the I-797 Approval Notice Number after scheduling a drop-box appointment? No change in the overall situation of consulates, they all are operating in limited fashion. You need to wait. The consular officer will either issue or refuse the visa. August 10th, 2022: Below are the latest updates from the end of July until now in August. Try it out and system will tell. Appreciate you for the valid help. See the above timeline in article for the most recent update. do we know when they will release next slot of B2 appointments? Help with Dropbox H1B Visa Appointment. you can check https://visagrader.com/us-visa-time-slots-availability/india-ind/ to see some trends. Hyderabad drop box updates. I wanted to apply for a drop-box appointment for myself and my wife. US Visa Approval & Refusal Rates by Country and Visa H1B Visa Tracker (FY 2023) US Visa Stamping Dropbox (Interview Waiver) Tracker US Visa Emergency Appointment Tracker USCIS Processing Times After you book the dates, you will be navigated further to print the H1B Dropbox Appointment Confirmation Letter. They suggest to attend the interview, if they have a slot confirmed. December 26th, 2022: Below are updates until today since last week. 1. Insights. If you are dropbox eligible, you can book an appointment for any city and dropbox it at any other consulate location. US Visa Approval & Refusal Rates by Country and Visa H1B Visa Tracker (FY 2023) US Visa Stamping Dropbox (Interview Waiver) Tracker US Visa Emergency Appointment Tracker USCIS Processing Times In the past, there was no option for someone, who qualified for dropbox, to attend an in-person interview, in case of an emergency. The reason is it says Schedule OFC Appointment and many think it is for giving your Biometrics (fingerprints, photo). I am a first-timer for a US visa, but considering the current slots scenario. My wife got her passport back with the H4 stamping. We have removed all the timeline of updates before January 2022 to keep the thread clean and up to date. So hopefully by that time slots will open? Im stuck with my kid here and my husband is already in the US. As part of my application, I have a minor child (dependent) who is currently at H4 status without a stamped visa (last stamped visa was L2). I do not have a stamped visa yet and Im planning to schedule a stamping/drop-box appointment. US Consulates say they are about 70% capacity now and will resume regular operations before September 2023, if things stay normal as per. Please advice. I already attended interview on 13 Dec 22 with depended and got visa stamped on 19 Dec 22 and received passports. Ashish, You can get the stamping done 90 days before from the start date on the petition. Dropped off docs at Chennai VAC (for Delhi VAC) on Oct 26. Verify the details and click on continue. Share your thoughts and inputs in comments section below. They said that they are preparing for a small student season in April, who are planning for Summer intake. If you need to be in the US by mid-August, you must book a slot now. Also, to confirm the above, when you fill out the visa details and answer the questionnaire on US Visa CGI Federal Website, you will not be asked for your previous employer information or what your visa stamp annotation says. Some sites like Delhi only have availability in 2023, but most others are showing availability in 2022. For full details check : During the week of Feb 7th, there was a video update given by US Embassy on the status of appointments and their focus for next months. I have been trying to get a F1 visa appointment for more than a week now and not able to get an appointment. They announced multiple measures on January 22nd to address the wait times. Dear Mr Kumar , You have been very helpful to everyone . To proceed with your interview waiver application Step 1. I have appointment for July mid for dropbox. Slots are fully booked for H and L for the next few months. They updated that over 1 lakh (100,000) visa applicants were processed in January 2023. It is mostly the documents you submit and your eligibility criteria that matter. Is this because all appointments until mid-July are filled? I know this is a million dollar question but did anyone have any luck for any slots opening till this Dec 2022 ? If I apply for their B1/b2 renewal, will they qualify for interview waiver and if yes are there slots available for B1b2 Dropbox? ( see below screenshot). US Embassy updated that as mentioned in Facebook live previously, they released 100,000 H and L Visa appointments and thousands have booked appointments. If they do cancel, they will inform the applicants affected. Pushkar, If you cannot do it in the portal, you should call the customer service. I am working in the US on approved H1B. As US Consulates across the globe are operating in a very limited fashion globally due to the COVID pandemic, starting from Jan 1st, 2022 until December 31st, 2023, the US Department of State has given Dropbox Stamping option for certain first-time H1B Visa Applicants, if they meet all the below eligibility criteria. New, Renewal? Please share if anyone has had this experience. They have not given a specific date. US Embassy in India had Visa Fridays Q & A last Friday on Feb 9th, 2023. Only limited B1/B2 dropbox is processed at the moment. We have received visa dropbox appointment and we are confused about the documents needed for her H1B COS. 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