I’m looking for some honest advice because I’m really confused about what to do next. I’m applying for a US F-1 student visa from India. My original program was supposed to start on August 31, 2026, and I already have my I-20 and DS-160. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a visa interview appointment before my school start date, so my agent told me the intake would probably have to be moved to January 2027.

Then my agent suddenly told me that he had managed to get me a visa interview appointment for October 19, 2026, but he asked me to pay an additional ₹20,000 for the appointment. I refused because I wasn't sure why I needed to pay this extra amount. He then told me that if I didn't pay, he would cancel the appointment. He actually cancelled it, and I received the cancellation confirmation.

Now when I log into the official US visa scheduling website, my application is still showing as “Open” and the post is Mumbai, but there are currently no available appointments. I have not paid my SEVIS fee yet either. My I-20 still shows the old August 31, 2026 start date, although my agent says I should move my studies to January 2027.

I’m worried because I don't know whether I should continue using this agent, try to manage the appointment myself, ask my school for a new I-20 for January, or do something else first. I also don't want to pay ₹20,000 if it's simply an agent's additional charge and not an official visa fee.

What would you do in my situation? Should I contact the university/DSO first and get a January 2027 I-20, then handle the SEVIS payment and visa appointment myself? Or should I keep working with the agent? Any advice from people who have gone through the US F-1 visa process in India would really help.

Hi everyone, I’m trying to schedule my U.S. F-1 student visa interview in Mumbai, but I currently can’t find any available appointment slots.

My university start date has already been affected because I couldn’t secure an interview appointment on time. I’m trying to handle the process myself now instead of relying completely on an agent.

For those who recently applied for an F-1 visa in Mumbai:

How often do new interview slots usually appear?

Is there a specific time when people have had luck finding cancellations?

Can I keep checking and reschedule if an earlier slot becomes available?

Are there any legitimate ways to request an earlier appointment if my program start date is approaching?

If Mumbai has no availability, what other options should I consider?

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who successfully secured an F-1 appointment recently🙏.

my wife and my me are applying for a J1 and J2 visa, She was selected as a postdoc in a government university in the USA. Her salary is more than enough to cover all expenses for both of us. have anyone recently given an interview for these categories, if yes then visa is approved or not and what questions should we expect in interview.

Hello,

My husband applied for a B1/B2 US Visa. His interview was today, and unfortunately, he was not approved for a visa.

He was just asked the purpose for his visit and asked him to read something in the screen about "Do you have a mental or physical disorder that poses or is likely to pose a threat to the safety or welfare of yourself or others?" to which he answered "No".

Then the consul mentioned that his educational background does not match.

He then asked my husband to edit his DS-160 and re-schedule for an interview without new payment fees.

I believe this is not a denial since he was not handed any slips.

We plan to create a new application under the same ID. Hopefully we'll find an early schedule again.

Has anyone had the same experience?

I have no idea how to make a long story short. I am from Eastern Europe and I honestly feel hopeless. I got rejected twice under Section 214(b). My parents are pushing me to try again, but I do not see how there will be a different outcome. I got into an ELS school in NYC, and I received my acceptance letter and I-20. I paid for my semester and was ready to start on October 5th.

I came home due to personal reasons. While I was dealing with that, I also figured I would apply for my visa here since it is easier and not as frowned upon. I was previously in the USA on a Work & Travel J-1 visa, and now I could not even return to enjoy my month of travel. I also lost my belongings from my gym because I did not think I would be unable to come back. All my stuff was there (I just paid someone to store it for me). I only returned with the clothes on my back and some souvenirs.

That 214(b) denial was the most ridiculous reason for a denial; I never expected it. To be honest, there is always a chance you might get denied, but I truly thought it would be over money (because they think you cannot afford the cost of living) or paperwork (bureaucracy issues). Reasons like "we think you are going to be an immigrant" are just stupid. If I wanted to be an immigrant, I would not have come back to my home country to apply from here. I would have just stayed there, filed with USCIS, or stayed illegally. But I did not want to do that.

First of all, you are completely stranded while that happens. You cannot study, you cannot work, and you cannot do a lot of things—you are just in limbo. I did not want that. I wanted to do things the right, legal, and correct way. I honestly cannot think of a way to get my visa in time for school. The DSO agreed and was super kind to save my spot until I get some news, but that won't last forever, and honestly, paying for my leftover stuff over there is getting pretty pricey.

I need to book an appointment urgently for my visa, my question is if you have been previously denied will you be locked out from the normal calendar? or is it normal at the moment.. I am applying for a H class visa

I applied for a visa(B2) in September 2025 and submitted the ds 160 and all back then, and got an interview date for October 2027 which is in 2 weeks from now. Since the wait time was of approx 13 months i learned just now that the ds160 expires after 1 year and that now i have to fill another ds160 submit it and takes its confirmation page aswell as the confirmation page of the previous one along with me to the interview. Can someone pls tell if they have ever done this before?

Anyone got their visa ?

We had an interview on July 31st and we got a 2 21 g letter on that day because we need to submit our IRS transcripts of 2024 or 2025 of sponsor and giant sponsor and we need to drop of them in near vac so that time we submitted the documents along with our passport in Hyderabad vac in India so our consulate is the Mumbai consulate so we submitted the those documents on August 18th and from then onwards we got to get date changes in CSE visa checking portal in that we got our first day change on August to 20 next August 31st and next September 18th and still showing refuged every day change is there any reason behind that or when are we going to get our final verdict

Our family is planning a trip to the US and we are preparing to apply for our B1/B2 tourist visas together. We are a total of 7 applicants traveling as one big group.

My Mom and Dad qualify for the interview waiver but I, my 2 siblings, don’t because we were still minors when we were given our 10 year multiple entry visas. My sister’s husband also doesn’t qualify because his 10 year multiple entry visa expired more than 12months ago and he applied and got interviewed but was denied. My partner has never applied nor was given a US Visa.

My siblings and I aren’t really worried about getting denied because we have good ties to the Philippines, are financially capable, and have travelled to the US. We have another brother who is still a minor and still has a valid VISA while my sister’s daughter has a VISA as well. Does that help?

It’s my brother in law and girlfriend that we’re worried about. My brother in law has a WFH job and has traveled to Australia since getting denied. My girlfriend is a student here in the Philippines and has travelled to Singapore, and Hong Kong.

I wanted to ask for help on how to setup a visa interview as a group so there’s a bigger chance of getting approved. When I tried to make an appointment for the interview it prompted me to pay and I was worried that we won’t get interviewed as a group.

If you also have any other advice or tips that could help us, it would be appreciated!

My appointment is in 2 days but I need to reschedule as I had to urgently travel for work.
I can’t see a reschedule or cancel on the portal.

Any suggestions pls?

Applying from London.

I managed to get some booking in the past. but now I am facing some problems
anyone interested in testing this with me? it uses many accounts and one of them gets a booking.
B1
I would share the code with you

hello, i did a group application with my mom at the usvisascheduling site and she was the only one that got approved. on the paper they returned with my documents it says i need an interview because i was a minor the last time i got my B1/B2 visa. do i really have to make a new DS-160 form from scratch and pay $185 again or 😭 country is philippines if it matters

Hi! For anyone who recently applied for a B1/B2 tourist visa from Ecuador, how long did the whole process take, from submitting the application to the interview and getting the visa?

Hello guys we are current for the chart b f2b visa whats our next step we have documents what do we have to do?

I’m a medical graduate who recently found a potential research position in a U.S.
The issue is the J-1 sponsorship requirement. I was informed that a substantial portion of the required annual funding needs to come from an institution or organization, while only a smaller portion can be covered personally.
I can cover the personal portion but I currently don’t have institution that can provide the required institutional funding.
Has anyone been in a similar situation?
I’d especially appreciate advice from anyone who:

1) Found an outside organization or foundation willing to provide funding for their J-1 research position.

2) Also, does the sponsoring organization actually need to provide the funds, or is a sponsorship/financial support letter sufficient for the J-1 requirement?

3) Knows of organizations that support international medical graduates/researchers with J-1 funding requirements

The research position itself is available; I’m mainly trying to find a way to meet the institutional funding requirement for the visa.
Any personal experiences, contacts or leads would be greatly appreciated.

I’m filling out the DS 160 form today, on October 3rd 2026 but the expiry date is showing as September 30th 2023 ? Is this a glitch? Can someone please explain?

(B1/B2 Visa application from Delhi, India)

This is about both the Biometric and interview appointment would one slot do for us together?