Top Visa Questions of the Week

When will more student visa appointments be opened?

Visa appointments for both first-time and previously refused students have filled for the December-January timeframe. If you didn’t receive an appointment you may consider talking to your school about the possibility of delaying your program start date or deferring admission.

I believe my Immigrant Visa was "skipped" - what can I do?

Due to a technical glitch in our scheduling system, a small number of immigrant visa cases were not scheduled according to their place in the scheduling queue. However, all such cases have now been scheduled. Applicants who have not been contacted to schedule their interview should note that we are currently experiencing longer than normal processing times. Please remember as well that queues vary by visa category.

If you continue to believe your case was skipped or should be expedited for any reason, you may submit an expedite request to NVCExpedite@state.gov. Please provide as much information to justify your expedite request as possible.

We currently expect to eliminate all Immigrant Visa backlogs and return to pre-pandemic wait times across all categories by mid-late 2023.

When will B1/B2 first-timer appointments be available?

The U.S. Mission to India recently made available more than 200,000 B1/B2 interview appointments for B1/B2 applicants and we will continue to release additional appointments as resources permit. Check our website for appointment availability.

I am in the United States and need to renew my H1B visa. I would like to return to India temporarily and renew my visa there. Can I get a dropbox appointment to renew my visa?

H1B applicants and their family members with H4 visas can use the interview waiver (dropbox) system to renew their visas as long as they are applying in their country of nationality or residence. We strongly urge travelers not to depart the United States until they have scheduled a renewal appointment. Travelers arriving in India without valid visas to return should be prepared for an extended stay.

My previously scheduled immigrant visa interview was cancelled due to covid. When will it be rescheduled?

You can reschedule your appointment via our appointment scheduling website at: https://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/immigrant-visa.html when you are contacted with instructions for doing so by the Consulate. Availability for rescheduling may be very limited, with appointments unavailable at some times.

When will F4 (and other F class) immigrant visa appointments be available?

As you may be aware, we are facing a long queue of applicants across all immigrant visa categories. We have resumed the rescheduling of routine cases through the National Visa Center in all categories, as well as all other services including fiancé K-visas, 221(g) submission, and the reissuance of expired visas. However, we cannot predict when you might be contacted for an appointment. We will post updates on our operational status at our website: https://www.ustraveldocs.com/in

Do I need to be vaccinated to enter the United States?

Yes, foreign national air travelers to the United States who are 18 years old or older are required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the United States, with only limited exceptions. See the CDC’s website for more details.