US Visas General Questions - Placeholder Slots, Living in the US, Siblings, Travel Plans, Agents

No Placeholder slots

There is no placeholder slots concept anymore. All slots that you see in the appointment booking system are real appointments. If you get an appointment for January 2023 or January 2025, that is a real appointment and you can use it to attend a visa interview or drop-off documents. 

No need of a Visa, if staying in the US

If you are already in the US, you do not need a valid visa. You need a valid I-94 and maintain your status. You only need a visa, if you travel outside and re-enter America. 

Siblings in the US, DS-160

If you have siblings in the US, you must declare it in DS-160. The Visa Officer will consider that during making a decision. If you don’t declare it properly and when you enter the US Port of entry and go through entry procedures, you could get flagged and it will be a difficult situation for you. 

Travel Plans in DS-160 

When trying to fill out DS-160 you need to fill in your best approximate dates for your travel in the travel plans section. Do not try to fill something random due to the availability of the dates in the appointment system. They will not penalize you for the dates you entered in there if you did not get a slot on time for that dates. 

221g Stuck – Email Consulate

If you have got a 221g Administrative Processing and it is stuck for a while, email the consulate with all the details, they will update you on the status. There is no estimated time that they can promise for such cases. 

Apply for US Visa in Different Country

They said that you may apply for US Visa in a different country if that consulate is giving visa appointments for third-country nationals. It is common to do this for renewals. They say it is recommended to apply for a US visa in your residence country, if you applying for the first time to show your ties to the country, etc. 

Dropbox Submission Stay in Country

You need to physically present in the country to apply for dropbox, you cannot send your passport from the US to India. 

Travel Agents 

They say that it is very common to use travel agents and many use them to book tickets and also visa appointments. It is not against the law for that. But, they say you should NOT be paying them money more than the appointment cost for booking it. They have some checks in place to avoid fraud done by agents. 

Passport Lost with Visa 

They said, if you have lost your passport with US Visa in it, you will be required to attend an in-person appointment and very likely not a dropbox as they want to see the evidence and then issue a visa. 

CR1, IR-1, Other Family Based Visa Categories 

They are working towards bringing the processing times for CR-1, IR-1, and other Family based categories to pre-covid levels. Most of these backlogs will be clear by next year. 

Thank You

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F1 Visa, F2, J and M Student Visas Appointments Situation