US Visa Appointment Application Fee-related guidance

The US Visa Appointment application Fee (also called MRV Fee) for payments that will be made from October 1st, 2022 will be valid for 365 days. All the applicants must schedule an appointment using that fee receipt within 365 days from the date they actually made the payment.

MRV Fee Valid for 365 Days

If you made Payment for the application fee on October 1st, 2022, you need to book an appointment before October 1st, 2023. Your MRV fee receipt will not be valid after October 1st, 2023 if you do not book a slot.

Example

All the US Visa Appointment Fee payments done before October 1st, 2022 are valid until September 30th, 2023. This is previous guidance and still holds good.

MRV Fee paid Before Oct 1st, 2022

There is no requirement that the appointment must be within the 365 days window, it can be anytime. Just that you need to book an appointment before 365 days. See the below screenshot for actual guidance they shared on the US Embassy website.

No need for an appointment to be within 365 Days

Let’s say you make payment on October 1st, 2022, then you need to book an appointment before Oct 1st, 2023. Imagine, if you find a slot for January 2024 or May 2025, you can book those appointments and they will be valid. There is no relationship or dependency between your MRV Fee validity with the visa appointment date you booked.

Example

Emergency or Expedite Appointments, Changes to System

They say that they are getting a few hundred expedite appointment requests a week and will not be able to honor all of them. You need to have a valid reason that falls into the category of emergency as outlined by them on the website like the death of an immediate family member or medical emergency, including critical business meetings, etc.

Getting a lot of Expedite Appointments

If you qualify for a dropbox appointment, currently, it is not very straightforward to request an emergency appointment as the system does not have that feature. They are changing the software to enable an option for dropbox applicants to request expedited or emergency appointments as well. This will be rolled out in the next week or so.

Change to Appointment System

Thank You

There’s always room for bliss.

General Guidance on US Consulates Operations in India for 2022 and 2023