Almost everyone wants to visit the United States, but getting a visa is a challenge. Obtaining a US Visa appointment has become difficult in recent years, with a waiting time of more than 500 days. That is, if you plan to visit the United States and apply for a visa today, you will receive an appointment almost 1.5 years later.
Yes !! I'm telling this from my own personal experience. I was planning to go to the United States and figured I'd at least get my visa in order. So I started by filling out the application form and paid the fee of $160 for an appointment. After that, when I went to schedule my appointment, I discovered that the earliest available slot was in April 2024. I was shocked to find out that I would have to wait so long for my Visa.
You may be wondering why there is such a long wait. It's mostly due to the fact that the US embassy and consulates in India receive a large number of visa applications every day. Also, in recent years, the United States' immigration policies have undergone significant changes, including the implementation of the travel ban, which has made it more difficult for certain individuals from specific countries, including India, to obtain visas. Obtaining a US visa in India has become difficult due to stringent requirements, security concerns, and limited appointment availability.
BUT... I didn't give up and began looking for possible ways to help me get an early slot. Fortunately, I DID !!!!!!! After actively trying, and checking for openings (and praying a lot too :P), I finally found a slot within a week and received my US visa within 20 days.
So I thought I'd share some useful tips with you that helped me and may help you get your Visa sooner.
NOTE: These tips will only increase your chances and possibilities of getting an early appointment, not guarantee that you will get it. It's all about patience and, in the end, a bit of luck.
[ This blog post is not intended to assist you in obtaining the visa. It's simply to help you in finding visa slots early. ]
Before that, let me brief you on the basic procedure -
Complete the online visa application: The DS-160 form, which is available online at the official website (https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/), must be completed. A large and detailed form in which you must enter all of your information. Make certain that everything is mentioned correctly and without errors. Your visa will be rejected if you fill it out incorrectly.
Pay the visa application fee: The fee varies depending on the type of visa you seek. And the worst part is that you have to pay the fee before you can even find out how soon you can get an appointment. Official Site for paying the fee and scheduling the appointment - https://atlas.my.salesforce-sites.com/
Schedule an appointment: You must schedule two appointments together (Biometric + Consulate). You cannot book them separately and the consulate must be within 15 days of the biometric.
TIPS that can help in finding early slots :
There are frequently cancellation slots that become available at random. So keep an eye out for them by randomly checking it throughout the day.
Try to log in around 4:30 or 6:30 p.m. That is when many slots in the system become available.
There are some telegram groups that will inform you if any new or cancelled slots become available. This is going to be extremely helpful and the best way to know about open slots.
Lastly, if you need to go on an urgent basic, another easy but expensive way to get an early slot is to apply from a different country where the wait time is shorter. Due to longer wait time in India, the US Embassy in India has announced that those planning a trip to the America can now apply for a business or tourist (B1/B2) visa through a US embassy or consulate in another country. For example, if you apply from Singapore, the wait time is approximately one week. However, keep in mind and be prepared for the possibility of rejection.
Some Important things to keep in mind :
You can only login to the website or refresh a page 12 times per day. After that, you can only log in after 24 hours. So don't make any unnecessary attempts and waste your logins.
Be aware that any available slots will be for immediate dates. As a result, you may need to travel to the respective consulate city right away.
You can book biometric and consulate in different cities, but it will end up being costly. It wasn't urgent for me, so I waited until both appointments were in the same city.
Make sure to carry all the supporting documents about the details you mention in application form as they might ask during the consulate interview.
The process is very quick once your Visa is approved. During payment, you are asked if you want to pick up your passport yourself from nearest passport office or if you want a premium home delivery option for an additional charge of 650/-. I went with the latter option and received my visa in about a week. As a result, the entire process took me 20 days.
I hope this post helps you with your US Visa application. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section below.
ALL THE BEST !!!