H1B Dropbox Appointment no NIE document

Hello All,

I have dropbox appointment scheduled for 29th October.

I wanted to check on the NIE document requirement and what’s exactly needed - can we write the letter ourselves or a letter from Employer is also needed?
My employer is not issuing NIE and I do not have any family in US so that category for NIE does not apply to me.

I was looking for appointment from past several months and now that I was able to schedule one, I noticed the requirement of NIE on appointment confirmation page. Up until now I was under the impression that NIE was needed only to travel back. I was ignorant of the fact its needed for visa stamping too :frowning:

With this situation what would be community’s advise - should I consider cancelling the appointment? I am currently in US.

Appreciate your time and assistance.

You can draft NIE letter yourself explaining how your job is related to the 16 sectors eligible for NIE. Go through below articles/post to get more clarity.

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Thanks for the lead Kalpesh. Appreciate your help.

I believe it is possible to get a regular visa appointment date within a reasonable period of time. However, dates are generally available in 2022, hence few apply for an expedited appointment if they qualify for exemptions (US citizen family members) or NIE.

Since you have drop box appointment on Oct 29, I don’t know how they will process. They may not issue a visa stamping due to the current travel ban and you are not eligible for any exceptions or NIE. They may issue some type of form with instructions to try later.

You could submit again after Nov 8 (since travel ban will be lifted for those who are vaccinated and with negative COVID test). Else, you could postpone the dropbox appointment after Nov 8.

When are you planning to reach India?