Arshi, The rule is valid till end of this year, but the visa issued will be valid for the duration it is issued for. It is difficult for Jul/Aug, as per them they can only open some in Sep. This screen is one of the most confusing parts for many. Enter Your Personal info, Passport details, contact info, mailing address, Petitioner info. Response: Check your previously issued US Visa annotations section. Dropbox OFC appointment dates Over 1M Trackitt Users Coronavirus (COVID-19): What You Need to Know Before You Travel Read More Toggle navigation Trackers USA Employment Based Trackers USA Family Based Trackers Canada Immigration Trackers UK Immigration Trackers Australia Immigration Trackers Forums USA Employment Based Forums UAE allows third Country nationals and I saw in the telegram group that if you can get your expedite request approved, they will take you in July. There are several country options available in the app at the moment, respectively Mexico, Australia, China, and India. I wanted to apply for a drop-box appointment for myself and my wife. see below tweets. They plan to open the second half of July and the first half of August appointments later. If my H1-B visa renewal start date is 29 October, can I take any appointment after July 29 which satisfies the rule that I can get my H1-B stamping done 90 days prior to my start date? Slots are fully booked for H and L for the next few months. 2) My company says that placeholder appointments are available from March 2023. 2. Rescheduling drop off date allowed. See below screenshot or check the tweet below. As long as you have your I-797 approval valid and I-94 valid, you are fine. See below post, US Embassy had Visa Fridays on October 6th, 2022. Steps to Finding us visa appointment available dates Complete Form-DS160 This is the first thing in your application process. There are limited slots that are open for in-person and they fill quickly. (1/2), We are committed to facilitate legitimate travel to the U.S. and take your inquiries and concerns seriously. They suggest to cancel and book dropbox slot, only when they find a slot. Also, it will include changes to dropbox requirements in recent times during the pandemic. They did confirm that renewals for B1/B2 slots are opened on a rolling basis. Depending on your choice, pick the relevant option and click on continue. F1 Appointments for Fall 2022: US Embassy mentioned that they will give slots to students who did not interview before, instead of giving more slots for someone rejected. Rishi, Yes, they can apply for interview waiver and apply for renewal now. I am not seeing any slots mostly. Everything you read online is their own theory based on their experience. Pathetic, Dont know what to do and who to escalate this to. Worried if I take appointment in India and getting my passport in time without delay and not effecting my return travel to Singapore. Need help in getting appointment of H1B in Canada Here is our situation: I am currently on H4 visa and my spouse is on H1B. You will be asked to select a location for the visa stamping or interview when you start the DS-160 form. No change in US Consulates operation status, they all are processing in limited fashion as like in before weeks. (3/3), Please note, however, that the rescission of the previous Presidential Proclamation restricting travel from India does not necessarily mean that a U.S. Embassy or Consulate is able to immediately schedule all affected applicants for visa processing. Any input will be greatly appreciated. But I got an interview waiver. Vedant, Yes, you cannot see. 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. Hi Kumar my son trying for Dropbox appointment slot for H1B visa stamping. Nikhil, You may need to update the DS-160 or create a new one with the new passport. If you are planning for H1B Dropbox stamping, check, There is an option also now in the online system that allows dropbox applicants to choose for an in-person appointment if there is an emergency. 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. April 25th, 2022: Below are some key updates since the previous update. US visa dropbox appointment made mandatory in India. Currently, they are processing interview waivers and limited in-person slots. It says I am eligible for interview waiver but since its my first h1b visa stamping, i think i need to give the interview. . December 28th, 2021: Below are the latest updates from today. Many applications also receive form 221g which can delay your passport. They say they cannot share exact dates on when they will release dates for October to December. The below questions are not relevant until the end of 2022. You need to answer them correctly based on your situation. Question 1: Do you have a previous U.S. visa in any visa class issued?. The slots they will open in the next round will be for interviews after August 15th, 2022. Please let me know if you have any update on this. December 27th, 2021: Below are the latest updates from the recent week. Fresh B1/B2 applicants slots to open soon for interviews from Sep 1st, 2022. I added spouse and kids as a dependent as well, they never have any US visa nor any rejection. Bring a completed copy of form DS-117 (PDF 24 KB). I have got the appointment at 4:45 pm for drop box. And my spouse too, with H4? The city you select here does not really matter. pic.twitter.com/BBv8LZT7oo. Any idea how to make sure this ? I've booked an appointment in Abu Dhabi and it mentions that you need to show your UAE resident visa. US Consulates continue to be operating in a limited fashion as in the previous month. Am I eligible for interview waiver as my expired F1 visa stamp is more than 5 years old. Does this mean the answer is yes to the question? US Embassy in India said they do not have any date in mind on when they will open fresh B1/B2 stamping slots. No date was mentioned when they will open. I hear Nepal is allowing Indians. No new updates from last week. Do you have a sense of when new appointments might become available? Is it true that one can login and reschedule only twice ? Hi Kumar It will be my sons first time visa stamping. US Embassy India updated their website saying that travelers to the US do not need to show a negative COVID test anymore starting from June 12th, 12:01 AM. See below screenshot. Below is the timeline of updates from the US Consulates and Embassy that are tracked regularly. No change in the overall US consulates situation in India. US Embassy opened a lot of appointments on September 27th, 2022 for all visa categories. Till now the interview is not scheduled due to unavailability of the slots. As long as you satisfy all the general eligibility criteria for H1B Visa Dropbox, as listed in the above section, you are eligible for H1B visa stamping using the dropbox option. We will cover all areas like dropbox eligibility requirements, booking appointments, documents checklist, how it works with employer change or H1B Visa Transfer situations, and status changes. Also, there are some other footnotes that say other services in the country like document pick up / submission info and other details. Atleast that gives me enough details to call in the Malaysian consulate or to check if they allow TCNs for non immigration visa. I have not been able to leave the country due to not having a Visa sticker in my passport I would not be able to get back into the USA if I left. I would suggest to pay the receipt and keep trying on the website , saw some dates available for feb March last week (mumbai) Yes, this is what I did. , One of my friends recently went for hai fathers surgery. After a month of trying in india they finally got an apt for next week in Malaysia. It looks like in the below screenshot. Read these carefully. However, the drop box appointments we are getting are for Nov 2023. People will be removed whoever posts any messages other than slots and will not be added back. They plan to open more in-person and dropbox slots. This is my first H1B Visa stamping. US Embassy organized Visa Fridays on May 6th. Even though the text says Schedule OFC Appointment, what they mean is the appointment for Dropbox to drop off your documents. Have anyone seen Interview slots in Hyderabad for the month of Sept yet? They continue to be operating in a limited fashion. I came to India in March for stamping and got stuck here. Home Work Visa Dropbox appointment for H1b in India for summer 2022 Illumina mxdL11 Jan 10, 2022 13 Comments Trying to book dropbox appointment at Chennai VC for June-July-Aug time frame, but not seeing any single slots. You probably need to carry all updated documents , otherwise you will get 221g. I got email from us travel docs on 28 Dec 22 that i need to appear for Re-Interview at any working day. November 30th, 2022: US Embassy had Visa Fridays Q&A on Nov 17th, below are the updates from the same session. The first step to applying for H1B stamping using the interview waiver or dropbox option is to ensure you meet all the general required criteria for a typical interview waiver or dropbox. All H1 renewals are eligible for dropbox. Appreciate you for the valid help. My F1 visa was rejected and aprroved in the next attempt. They plan to open first time B1/B2 in the upcoming weeks to start interviews in September. I am open to travel to nearby counties that allow TCNs, Trying to get back to my kids in the US. Due to Omicron variant, if Govt gives any instructions then they may cancel appointments. (even though I was waived for interview) 1) How long is it taking for passport return after in person interview in Hyd? You have to choose your preferred US embassy to take an appointment and then drop your documents at the corresponding drop-off location FREE of cost: New Delhi Embassy - drop at New Delhi, Chandigarh, or Jalandhar processing centers. on how to handle US Visa appointments and the current operation status of their services. It looks like in the below screenshot. Their previous 10yr B1/B2 visa got expired in April 2016? If you plan to continue with old company then submit the employment verification letter. The guided wizard looks like in the below section screenshots. If you are called up to attend graduation for F1 students, you can raise an Emergency appointment. The same situation with H and L Visas Most slots are fully booked for the next few months and they will open more starting in September. Hi my son who is in California got H1b in March 2020. Below is the typical sequence for the change of various statuses. If you plan to work for the new company, get the joining letter and submit that. To know more on this read What is Clearance Received or Department Authorization annotation? Update: In the past, the question used to say Was your most recent H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) issued in after January 1, 2008? See the below screenshot. If you have Telegram, you can view and join H1B/H4 Visa Dropbox slots . U.S. Consulate Mumbai will contact applicants who were refused under section 221(g) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) due to Presidential Proclamation 10199 as soon as possible with instructions on how to continue processing their cases. How to Request an Expedited Appointment: Applicants can request an expedited appointment through our online appointment system at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/en/expedited-appointment. How did you get the appointments at two different locations? But, this has changed in mid-2021. I had the exact same experience @Sumiran. Hi, I have my H1B petition approved and in I-797B form with validity till August 2023. Check below for full details and actual Q&A responses. February 28th, 2022: Below are the latest updates from February until today. I dont know how to verify this. Student visa appointments are available on our website. Could you please help? Is that the same thing (my dropbox VAC would be Kochi)? Did you go for Visa appointment or Dropbox ? The applicant needs to meet all the below 7 requirements to be eligible for H1B Dropbox as a first-time H1B applicant: Check complete details on the above at US Visa Stamping Dropbox Option for certain H1B Visa applicants. US Embassy India has given official guidance as FAQ on their website regarding converting in-person to dropbox. See below tweet from them. The response from the support team is, users cannot covert the appointments, but they can cancel and re-book, if they qualify. Now that you understand the general requirements for H1B stamping using dropbox, lets look at the step-by-step process. You can check complete details about this change at US Visa Dropbox / Renewal VAC vs. IW Confusion, New Change. Question 3 : Was your most recent visa (in the same class for which you are applying) lost or stolenor cancelled?. Due to the overwhelming demand, there are a limited number of daily interview waiver appointments, and they generally fill shortly after they become available. Response: For this, most of them would answer Yes, unless your visa was issued before Jan 1st, 2008. Is this normal? I was issued an F1 visa in the past with no issues. They will verify all the documents and then take the listed documents in the above checklist. This kind of visa stamping process is called an Interview Waiver option and is popularly called the Dropbox Stamping. After you make the payment and the receipt is activated, you need to enter the Machine Readable Visa(MRV) Fee payment receipt number. Below are the general eligibility criteria for getting H1B Visa stamping using dropbox or the interview waiver option. Yug And Nik 2.11K. The consulates have not done any drastic changes due to the increase in cases in India with the new Omicron variant spread, except closing the F1 slots for Spring 2022. I have seen slots for October 2022 at Delhi about a week back. Just note that youll need to leave us your passport for up to 3-4 weeks while the application is being processed. If so should I dropoff my documents at the same time as given in the appointment at chennai or should I dropoff a little earlier? I was looking for slots and did the questionnaire, I was eligible for interview waiver. Updated 04/30/2013. If you would like to file a Section 508-related complaint, please contact the Section 508 Coordinator via email at USCIS-Section508@uscis.dhs.gov. . Also, to add, we have many users on our blog and social media channels, who have got stamping done after the H1B transfer. Having the previous company name is the cause of the confusion. Hi Kumar, First I would like to thank you for providing timely updates on your site. They are opening more H1B Slots, but due to the demand, they fill up quickly.