The public is experiencing considerable frustration and anxiety over the new in-person visa interview requirements. Concerns include difficulties in securing timely appointments, confusion about the visa application process, and overall impact on travel plans. While some commenters express gratitude for helpful resources and share positive experiences, the predominant sentiment reflects worry about navigating the increasingly complex system and its implications for their futures.

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Universities

This is correct. I was able to book an in person appointment. Whoever posted this thanks a ton!

Diligent_Ad_6528

Does that mean there will not be any DB dates opening for August?

Angela0909

blackpearl666

I have a dropbox appointment booked for 30th September, could someone please guide and share their experience if they were successfully able to change it to an in person interview appointment?

Feisty-Protection298

Also do you need to schedule 2 appointments? Once for VAC and one for Consulate?

Curious_Young_Guy

Do we need 2 appointments ? - one for interview and one for biometric

-pas

Looking for appointments post October in Mumbai - any luck with those ?

Ill_Negotiation9851

Anybody booked OFC and Consular back to back on consecutive days? Is there any gap requirement between these two appointments?

WSBgodzilla

For B1/B2 visa renewals, waiver still hold true right?

mgforce

While you wait for someone to comment on your post, please ensure that you have included the **country** from which you are applying the visa and your **visa type** either in the title or in the body of the post. If not, please edit your post and include them.


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AutoModerator

I followed the steps above (thanks OP), and am seeing appointments for August, but does that mean it’ll be an interview or a Dropbox?

beigebutnotreally

By closing and starting a new application, do you also mean a new DS160 form? Or we can enter the same DS160 confirmation number?

Thanks for posting this. I closed my application and started a new one. I selected a biometric appointment, but none of the consular appointments work for me. How do I go back now? Close and start new application?

OldSatisfaction3602

Hello, I closed and opened a new application. I am stuck on the MRV fee payment page. I selected credit card/debit card option and it has temporarily locked me out with 2 hour cooldown period. Its been more than 12 hours but still the same message. Anyone else faced this and know how to resolve this?

PerformanceLife675

I am not able to login the portal. A it is just redirecting me to home page after entering all credentials

Waste_Substance_1234

I want to book appointment before Sept 2nd can it be done ?

PlasticNo457

Can someone please confirm if the process of closing and opening a new application works for F1 renewals too? I was eligible for dropbox earlier but no longer am according to the new rules. Are interview slots for renewing F1 visa available in September/October?

cupofcoffee27

Are you guys seeing any open slots in November or December?? I checked and only see open slots in Aug and Sept that too only Chennai ro Hyderabad.. do you guys think they will open slots in next week or as we get close to September?

I see no open slots in Dec 2025 or even Jan/Feb 2026

InevitableTown7305

[deleted]

My mother tried to attend her Dropbox Appointment and it was not honored, they told her she was late by 2 days.

No_Hat_6605

Old news. You bringing good point of reusing the credits. I would edit the title to suit the description.

Wolf-Historical

I dont think you can modify, the language by default is English when I tried to book. So you have to request for a translator in the appt center on your appt day. Also, you have to book in a center where the regional languages are supported. South Indian speaking ppl try to stick with Chennai/Hyderabad/Bangalore center for translators and avoid other locations. So I guess you are good, but you can ask in forums if MUM has Gujarati translators.

thhrrbb

Typically there is no interpreter between the applicant and the officer. The officer may know some local language. VAC isn't an issue. However on the day of your appointment, you have to notify them that you need assistance. If an officer speaks Gujarati, they will send you to that line. Otherwise they will try to find someone in your appointment slot who can speak the language, but no guarantee. I believe a little bit of Hindi would do the trick in your case. 

Also, at the VAC they ask you for your preferred language.

Popular-Lock-4488

Hey I had my B1 interview at the Mumbai consulate yesterday. They are fairly helpful with language changes. Though mine was in English, I saw multiple people being guided into separate queues for languages like gujarati, Hindi, and Marathi. 

So you should be good. Just mention it to the people at the centre

AccomplishedFail2544

There is no way to book the interview language in advance. On the day of your interview just before you go to the interview counter, you will be asked a language preference. In Mumbai, they only have English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati. There are separate queue's for each.

Original-Bar-82

You will find Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi counters in Mumbai

IndieMamba

Thanks for the detailed note, really helpful!

That’s really informative!

I’m applying for a J1 visa, and my internship starts from 20th May. Will I face any difficulties regarding availability of slots?

HeadHunterx13

Thanks for the detailed post. Hustle is for getting early slot for OFC and consular post. Slots opens near 30 minutes mark i.e. either such as 0700 or 0730hrs. Thanks for the new update of opening site in incognito mode to bypass access limitation issue.

manojbhardwaj10

Great post. Thanks so much! 

I'm not able to hold onto an OFC appointment. After booking my OFC appointment, there are no slots available for Consular.

When I login back into my portal after few hours it takes me back to the OFC slots page. And also gives me a warning that I only have one more attempt remaining, although I never tried to reschedule. It is very frustrating and driving me anxious, as I don't want to pay again. Any thoughts on how to get two appointments booked?

Working-Surround-580

Can't you goto Malaysia or UAE again and get a slot there , instead of applying in India?

Optimal-Still-4184

Hello! I’m about to apply for B1 visa for a convention that is in July. The wait times are 440 days for an appointment. How can I get an early date? Also how will I know about the bulk visa appointments? I really need some help 😭 I would be very grateful if you have any tips

Hrkd916

Thanks, this is really helpful!

One quick question though - Can I have OFC appointment in a  different city (let's say Mumbai) and Consular appointment in different city (let's say Delhi)? Ofcourse they would be within one month of each other, OFC appointment followed by Consular appointment.

ssbnasa

Hi OP at the consular interview at embassy did you notice any seperate block helping people change ds160 at the interview in Delhi? Not in VAC but in actual interview

Practical_Yam6371

OldJuice6667

Quite detailed explanation. Do we require huge bank balance which they check ? And do we require conf tickets?

Just-another-spirit

Hi- Did they ask for any document for confirmation ?

False-Barnacle-5253

I was wondering you got lucky here for getting very early appointment ! I’ve heard it will take 12 months ! Any tips to get early slots

Outrageous-Tree710

Can someone here confirm me if the Ds 160 confirmation number asked to book the appointment is the same as the ds 160 application number that is used to retrieve the application?

Ill-Particular6580

thanks for writing this up!


&gt;  In India, you are supposed to book 2 Appointments


Do we need to create 2 applications on usvisascheduling website for each appointment? or can we schedule both appointments under 1 application?

GovernmentCheckout

Your post is super helpful! I’ve booked my appointment for Jan 2026 but I want to reschedule it to April or May of this year. Do you have any tips or tricks to share for booking a visa slot so close to filling your application form? I see you got your appointment in a month or two from filling your form. Would really appreciate anyone’s help on this

trabeller-AR

Does the bank statement need to be attested?

No_Preparation_4569

I sometimes wonder what people have in mind when they take out the time to write about their experience in so much detail just to help others. Really appreciate it man! Thank you from all of us 🙏🏻

im_okay___

maniacrider02

BulletTiger

purelibran

Hello OP. Can you please tell me about the expiration date of an unsubmitted DS-160 form?

I started filling out my DS-160 form on March 1st but haven't submitted it yet. However, I have already booked my visa appointment.

If I modify my DS-160 today (March 19th), will the 30-day expiration countdown restart, making it valid until April 19th? Or will it still expire 30 days from the day I first created it, which is March 30th?

lostwordss

Congrats do you mind if I dm you about few questions

Competitive_Ice_2

This is a well-written post, thanks for sharing! 

I have a quick question. I wasn’t aware that we need to select the OFC appointment date at the same time as scheduling the consular appointment. As a result, I only booked the consular appointment.

Does this mean my entire application process is now invalid? Is there any way for me to schedule an OFC appointment separately, or do I need to start over?

Thanks in advance!

In my case, I am yet to join the company which has asked me to secure a visa for a training. I have used emergency slot booking for the interview process. One of my coworkers got her application rejected (probably) on the grounds that she ain't an employee of the company. How do I navigate this?

Terrible-Criticism36

Hey, thank you for the information. I have one of my family friends who lives there. So do I need his invitation letter? Will it help? If you had used any invitation letter format, can you please share?

Responsible_Way8184

Hi i am currently trying to inform myself for someone else. The appointment you needed to make was for the interview correct? You had to wait a long time for the interview appointment?

Inevitable_babycrier

Hello, I just paid the fee for the visa. I am open eligible to book an appointment. Just wanted to know if there is any compulsion on how early I should book an appointment after paying fee or can I take my time with the first attempt? I read that the visa fee is valid for 365 days so my plan is to wait it out and see if I get an early slot for the first attempt rather than book something one year away and lose an attempt

No-Entrepreneur-1649

thank you for the details! 

A noob question, did you carry original documents or a xerox of it? (Like for ITR and salary slips)

PepperThis6430

Thank you so much, it really means a lot!

IndicationWilling495

Hey! Thank you for the detailed post! You said "*Everyone on the sub keeps mentioning telegram channels but none provide links for the same*", but that's not true.  
There is a telegram group with bot which posts as soon as a B1/B2 slots are available: [https://t.me/USvisaAppointmentsHelp](https://t.me/USvisaAppointmentsHelp)  
This helped me in grabbing a slot within 1 month. Hope this helps! 🙂

Dazzling-Attitude-84

This was my bible for my entire VISA process.   
Thank you very much!

Munchies_69

Hey so did you get an email after booking the biometric and consular?

kant3e

Few hours back i got a mail saying my appointment got rescheduled, and my new appointment date is in Jan 2026 , inital appointment date was in October.

ragman190992

Please what do I do. Mine was rescheduled as well. And ny new date comes 2 days after the conference for which I'm applying for the visa.

Fun_Conclusion3663

Why do people come to such an expensive place to get stuck!!!

4comma

Hi OP. Could you help in this dilemma:
Original Date was 8July'25
New Date is 9 Sep'25


Meanwhile I was looking for schengen visa slot(which is another gamble) . luckily I got 16July'25 as appointment for Netherland. However I'm hearing Netherland visa processing are taking longer time (in some cases 50+ day).
In that extreme case , I may be w/o passport on the US visa appointment. 
 I got schengen visa slot after lot of trial and anyway my this year US Tourism visit is ruined , so don't want to miss the schengen slot. What you suggest ?
Also I have changed my DS160 once in system. Limit exhausted. How to update the DS for changing travel history and original visit plan of US which was even before my reschduled 9SEP'25 date ?

Swollenfoot_08

First of all get a job, u need to be employed. Else high risk of being rejected.

TheIndianZyzz

You need to show strong ties to home country. Get employed first or else they can reject you.

Brilliant-Entrance78

Mountain-Ranger-9979

Starting September 2025, most non-immigrant visa applicants will be required to attend in-person interviews, ending previous waivers.

Changes to US Visa Interview Requirements

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