US Visa Appointments in India (2026): Complete Guide to Booking, Wait Times, Early Slots & Scheduling

What a US visa appointment actually involves

For most non-immigrant categories (B1/B2, F1, J1, H1B, H4, L1/L2 and more) the US visa process in India involves two separate appointments: a biometrics appointment at an OFC (Offsite Facilitation Center) and a visa interview at a US Consulate or the Embassy.

Both are booked through the official scheduling portal after you complete the prerequisites. The single most important thing to understand is that appointment availability is not fixed — slots open and close continuously as applicants book, cancel and reschedule.

Step 1 — Complete your DS-160

Form DS-160 is the online non-immigrant visa application. You receive a confirmation barcode; keep it safe, because you cannot schedule without it. Accuracy matters — mistakes can cause problems at the interview, so review every answer before submitting.

Step 2 — Pay the MRV fee and create your profile

Pay the visa application (MRV) fee — currently US$185 for most non-immigrant categories such as B1/B2, F1 and H1B — and keep the receipt number, because it is required to book. In India, MRV payments through the scheduling system are generally made with an Indian credit or debit card.

Then create your applicant profile on the official portal. Only once the payment is recognised can you open the scheduling calendar. If a payment appears to fail, do not immediately pay again — a duplicate payment may not be refundable; contact official support with your receipt first.

Step 3 — Book your OFC and Consular appointments

Choose your OFC location and your Consular location. A powerful and often-missed detail: these are independent. Your biometrics can be in one city while your interview is in another if that gives you an earlier or more convenient combination.

• OFC and Consular cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata
• You can mix and match — e.g. OFC in Hyderabad, interview in Chennai
• Mixing cities often finds earlier dates, because availability differs by city

What it costs

There are two kinds of cost. First, official government fees — principally the MRV visa fee (US$185 for most categories), paid to the official system, not to any service. Second, if you use an assistance service, its service fee.

AppointVisa's model is deliberately low-risk: a small pre-payment starts priority handling, and the balance of the service fee is due only after your appointment is secured — refunded in full if we don't book by the agreed deadline. Be wary of anyone demanding the full fee upfront with no refund.

US visa appointment wait times in India

Wait times vary by city, visa category and season, and the estimate the portal shows is only a snapshot — it does not reflect the earlier slots that open when others cancel. Treat the first date shown as a starting point, not the best you can get.

Because the numbers move constantly, we don't publish fixed figures that would quickly go stale. For your specific category and cities, ask us and we'll tell you what's realistic right now.

How to get an earlier US visa appointment

The first date the system shows is rarely the earliest that will ever exist. As people reschedule and cancel, earlier slots appear and disappear within seconds — often faster than a person checking a few times a day can catch.

Catching them reliably requires near-continuous monitoring and acting in seconds. That is the core of what a dedicated booking team does: watch official availability throughout the day and book the instant a suitable earlier slot opens.

Rescheduling your appointment

You can reschedule through the portal, but an earlier date is only available if one has opened up. Since 1 January 2025 the US Mission in India allows one free reschedule per valid MRV fee receipt, after which you need to pay the MRV fee again. Confirm the current rule on the official portal before moving your date, and aim the move at a genuinely better slot.

Emergency and expedited appointments

If your travel is urgent — a medical emergency, a death or critical illness in the family, an imminent student program start, or a pressing work deadline — you may request an emergency (expedited) appointment. You must first book a regular appointment, then submit the request through the portal with supporting documents; approval is discretionary and never guaranteed.

Even when approved, an expedite only opens a limited window to book an earlier slot, which can still be scarce — so monitoring still matters whether the request is approved or not.

The official scheduling portal (usvisascheduling.com)

US visa appointments in India are scheduled through the official portal. You log in with the account you created after completing the DS-160 and paying the MRV fee. Never enter your portal login into any non-official or public form.

Common issues include login failures (which do not mean there's a problem with your case), 'no slots' showing when a city is fully booked at that moment, and payment hiccups. Official support is through the portal's own help channels — confirm the current contact method on the official site.

Which visa category are you applying for?

The booking process is the same across categories, but timing pressures differ:

• B1/B2 (visitor) — business trips, tourism, visiting family; the most common category
• F1 (student) — time-sensitive against a program start date
• H1B / H4 (work and dependents) — often tied to an employer start date
• L1 / L2 (intra-company transfer and dependents)
• J1 (exchange visitor) and O1/O2 (extraordinary ability)

Documents to bring

For the OFC appointment, bring your appointment confirmation, passport and DS-160 confirmation page — the visit captures fingerprints and a photo and is usually brief. For the interview, bring your passport, DS-160 confirmation, appointment confirmation and the supporting documents relevant to your visa category. Always check the current requirements for your category before you go.

Avoiding scams and choosing a safe service

This niche attracts scams, so apply a simple test. A safe service works strictly within the official system, never asks for your portal login on a public form, never promises a guaranteed appointment date or visa, and is transparent about fees with a refundable model.

Be cautious of anyone guaranteeing an outcome, asking you to share credentials insecurely, or demanding a large non-refundable payment upfront — availability and visa approval are controlled by the official system and consular officers, not any agent.

Where AppointVisa fits in

You can do all of this yourself. Many applicants prefer to hand the monitoring and booking to a dedicated team so they don't have to refresh the calendar for days. You keep your own portal account; we confirm your requirements, watch official availability every day, and book the moment a suitable slot opens. The pre-payment is refunded in full if we don't book by the agreed deadline, and the balance is due only after your appointment is secured.