Thanks for sharing the information!
At what time did you find the open slot?
Thanks
My family completed their Dropbox appointment on Monday 9/20 in Mumbai.
Though we had prepared all documents as per instructions on email, all they asked was Primary applicants current I-797A , each applicantās respective current I-797A, then documents for exemption from PP (Presidentās Proclamation)/NIE (National Interest exemption), photos and passports of course
But never take chance, keep everything ready. I was suggested by others to carry recent pay stubs, marriage certificate etc.
Staff at Mumbai office very polite, professional and helpful.
Mumbai traffic was horrible. 30kms to visa office took more than 2 hours.
Thanks for the update.
Hi All,
I have been looking for an OFC appointment for a while now. If you are able to see appointments at any location, could you please tag me or reply to this post here? That would be a great help, thank you in advance!!
How long it took to get appointment? Do you have kids? Were they qualified for drop box? How to add kids in the profile and check their drop box eligibility?
I was trying from July 10th every day 4 to 5 times at different intervals and they froze my account because of too many attempts several times. I finally got appointment for 9/20/2021 pure, pure, pure luck!
I know people in this community have reported they got appointment for Jan/Feb 2022 (but there is option to request for expediting if there is genuine reason).
Yes! I have a minor daughter who also was applying together with her mother, The form is little confusing to qualify a minor for Visa waiver. One of the questions is āAre you (the visa applicant) under 14 years of age?ā and general instruction is ā"ā¦EACH visa applicant must independently meet following criteria ā¦"ā
So in this case answer to this question is No for my wife and Yes for my daughter.
What you may want to do is answer such questions keeping adult in mind first and then minor in mind. DO NOT submit yet. This way I came to know that both of them qualify for waiver.
Also one of the documents to submit for minor is āvalid visa stamping of both parentsā. Again this was contradicting in my case as mother of minor was applying together with minor and hence valid visa stamping on parent was yet to be stamped.
As I mentioned in my above reply on the day of interview/drop box it was so simple, so easy and so hassle free.
All they asked was;
(1.) Primary applicants current I-797A ,
(2.) each applicantās respective current I-797A, (if available, in my case we had)
(3.) then documents for exemption from PP (Presidentās Proclamation)/NIE (National Interest exemption), (4). photos and passports of course
Hope this helps. Was your question more technical on āhow to add kids to the same profileā ?
My situation is exactly like yours. My wife has to apply and she qualifies for Interview wavier. But all questions are confusing
- Are you under 14 years of age? - what to answer for this question? as wife is above and son is below
- Does both parents have valid visa? My wife does not have it. So what to answer here
How we can provide answer to two people when question is asked only once?
what I did was this;
for this question;
Are you under 14 years of age? First I answered keeping my wife in mind as No, then next, all other questions. In last step instead of submitting, did back and started all over again and then answered Yes, keeping my daughter in mind, then next, all other questions. In last step instead of submitting, did back.
This way I came know that both of them qualify for visa waiver/drop box individually but not in the same application.
Putting all my trust in GOD, I submitted the application keeping my wife in mind.
I had also prepared a cover letter explaining why! and also for both parent valid visa question. Since I (primary applicant) never travelled outside US since visa renewal I did not have valid visa stamped and my wife was applying for valid visa stamping. But on the day of drop box submission they did not ask for any explanation (and that cover letter was not used).
Use your best discretion. People at embassy are really nice, understanding and do not give hard time. It is software/application that has no emotions or intelligence but people do understand the reality.
All the best.
Hi Naveed,
Thank you for answering many questions in the thread. That was very helpful reading through.
However I have a different question.
I am trying to get an appointment for dropoff (same as you). I have selected the drop-off location as Bangalore which is affiliated to Chennai consulate. However I am not able to find any appointment in Chennai consulate. So I wanted to check if it is okay to get an appointment in Delhi/Mumbai (and I am ready to fly to either of these places from Bangalore if called for an interview) and drop off the documents in Bangalore.
Thanks in Advance
Hi Naveed,
Thanks for sharing information. Now, I just boarded to this thrill of āpure luckā and itās been only a month, long way to goā¦ I have been checking every 4-5 hours day and night and yes they froze my account as well. Canāt expect any help from their ārobotā customer care people because whatever you ask, they just copy and paste the same typical generic answer. I think this is either luck game or their ālegal scamā
while completing DS160 you can choose one consulate and can take appointment at a different consulate.
I know a close friend who had selected Hyderabad in DS 160 but gave interview in New Delhi.
While completing DS160 when we select residing state, it accordingly selects the nearest zonal consulate but that does NOT stop from selecting any consulate of choice for interview/drop-box.
I had selected Chennai and but got appointment for Mumbai. My family travelled to Mumbai foir drop-box and collected documents back in Bengaluru in 1 week.
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Thank you so much for clarifying it.
So if i understand correctly, I can have one consulate selected in DS160 (For ex Chennai) and take an appointment in another consulate (Say Mumbai) for interview (if being called) and document drop off. However, the drop off for the documents depends on the consulate selected in the appointment (i,e Mumbai in this example) and i can drop off only in the locations allowed for that respective consulate. But pickup can be of our choice as selected while making the appointment.
Let me know if my understanding is correct.
Hi Naveed,
Iāve a petition from my company in US that is addressed to the Chennai consulate. Iāve also selected Chennai consulate while filling the DS160 form but I donāt see any slots in the near future. So can I change my appointment location to a different consulate?
Thanks in advance!
Best,
Vishnu
My daughter is minor(2 yrs), but she do not have any previous visa. I got H1 transfer approved and in India right now , I had previous h1 visa stamped , planning to put h4 together with me for my child and husband (he has a valid stamped visa in another category) . Do you think I can have one appointment for visa waiver option for all 3 of us? Can anyone help with this question.
Thanks
Anu
Yes, all three may qualify for IW.
Thanks Kalpesh, I need one more clarification. When I try to add my spouse as dependent in the cgi portal it throws āYou can not currently add this dependentā this error. Does this has anything to do with his ongoing L1 petition filed? Any lead will help.
Does he have his own profile on CGI federal? If yes, probably that is the reason.
You may contact VFS and see what they say.
Okay I can check with them. Do you know if it will take any lead time to get the application be active after submitting. we submitted his application 5 hrs back only. Probably I will wait for somemore time and see.
Yes his profile was tagged to different country since he got his last visa in a diff country