[kvsneela]

Our (USA) visa adventure

Note: This report is only to give guidance for new US Visa applicant about what to expect and procedures. If the admin felt that it might create international problems, not necessary to publish. Could be combined If any similar thread if already available.

Prelude:

In last 30 years our purchasing power had increased tremendously by which once luxury became necessity like cars, mobiles etc. (only doctors and big businessmen used to keep cars in our times). Moreover, we never had any idea of traveling to a foreign country and never imagined that we would apply for visa. It all happened after our son joined IITM in 2013. Until then he also did not have any idea of foreign education or jobs. IIT changed his perspective and he wished to continue his MS in US and did at Princeton in 2017. Ideally as soon as he left for USA, we should have applied for US visa since, if not for pleasure, emergency situations might occur at any time. But we were casual about visa since getting one hardly take a couple of weeks. In fact, my office was in between VAC and Consulate in Chennai and while walking in that area from Kodambakkam daily I had guided many people to interview centres.

Application and Slot booking:

After son joined in H1B job in 2019 we got serious and started collecting documents for visa application (like I-134 etc.,). But Covid situation changed everything and visa interviews were stopped indefinitely. So, after waiting for nearly 2 years we finally applied in April 2022 at Chennai Consulate after hearing the news about reopening (I was the main applicant with wife as additional). Since we are in Pondy, opted for Courier services (Rs 650/-) for only pickup. But after application (DS-160) we found that the interview slots were still not opened. So, waiting continued and meanwhile we renewed our passports also (which had validity up to June 2023 but renewed in June 2022 itself due to another misunderstanding).

In July 2022 finally the slots were opened and we could get slots only in October 2023 (VAC biometric on 6th Oct 2023 at 9.00 AM and consulate interview on 19th Oct 2023 at 11.00 AM both at Chennai). So, our waiting started which was more than a year long. During the waiting period I had a small prick inside my mind about passport number in our DS-160. Our DS-160 had old passport number and we already had renewed passport with new number. I checked all through the net and concluded that we cannot edit our DS-160 which can be done only by VAC. Also heard that we are supposed to take both old and new passports to the interview and they will do the needful. This situation happened only due to Covid and subsequent waiting period which might be in years (In pre-covid times this situation might not have happened as the waiting period was only few days).

In August 2023 one of our friends attended the interview (successfully) and we gathered some information from them. One of them was that we cannot carry remote car (battery operated) keys for consulate interview. They had to ask an auto driver to keep the car keys for which they were charged 2000/- which they bargained and brought down to 200/-.

In Chennai I have my brother’s and BIL’s homes but both were a bit outside so to avoid the morning traffic, I booked in our office guesthouse for 5th and 18th October. (We could have come directly from Pondy starting early morning without booking but did not want to take the risk of breakdown or puncture). More over since the guesthouse is Kodambakkam we could walk to interview centres in worst case.

Interviews:

VAC (Biometric) (6.10.2023: 8 AM):

For Biometric only following documents are required: (But we carried other financial documents also in case required).
1. Application Confirmation (received by email)
2. Copy of DS160 (downloaded)
3. Original Passports (old and new)

On 5.10.2023, I started from home at 2 PM and picked wife from her office and reached guest house by 5.30.PM. Next day morning we left for the VAC (after complimentary breakfast) at 8.00 AM and reached VAC by 8.15. Since I already knew about this area very well, parked the car on the main Arcot Road (in front of the VAC building on the opposite side near the TNEB and water tanker filling offices. I told wife not to carry any bags but she carried her bag which had iPad also. There was already line formed outside the VAC for 9 AM slot and we joined them. Soon we were inside the building and were asked to go to 2nd floor. In between at 2/3 places there was checking for documents. At security checking when we told about iPad, they refused to allow and asked us to go to ground floor which had locker facility for 50/-. I was angry with wife for not listening to me and still went down for the lockers which were inside browsing centre on the ground floor.

Second time went through security check (bypassing the line) but this time after checking our names and DOB with passports, we were sent back to the browsing centre for editing passport number with new number (which was my worry for the last one year). We again hurried down and approached the browsing centre (which had lockers) but found to be crowded for one correction or other (many people had DS-160 validity expiry problem). Then we came out and found one more browsing centre on the right side in the same road which had no rush. While we waited for the lady to fill up previous applicant, she asked about our son’s USA address which I had in my mobile which was in the locker. So, I went back to the locker and retrieved the bag and kept in the car this time after taking out my mobile only. When I returned my DS-160 was already opened (with a secret question). I gave all the date required for editing DS-160 which was done for wife also (also with a secret question). The lady also told us to have copy of our son’s H1B visa and also, I-134 form filled by him.

This correction job took only 10 minutes or so (Rs 300/- for each) we returned to VAC with new passport number in our DS160. Bypassed the lines and went to security check for the third time and joined in the line for actual biometric. In one counter our passports were stickered with courier charges Rs 850/- (I came to know latter that 650/- changed to 850/-). When my turn came for biometric, the girl in the counter observed something and went away as if to ask for some clarification for her superior. I waited for her to return thinking that my day was not done yet. Finally, she returned and went through the process (photo first and 4 fingers in both hands together next and finally both thumbs). Meanwhile wife finished and was waiting outside (after biometric nobody is allowed inside). Soon I joined her and our work is finished at VAC at around 10 AM (without correction work, it would be only 30 minutes). We returned to Pondy on the same day after visiting my mother (who is in my brother’s house at Tambaram).

Consulate interview (19.10.2023: 11 A.M)

After reaching Pondy I started to collect the required supporting documents also asked our son about I-134 (which he had already sent in 2019 but it was valid up to 2021 only). He was vacationing in Bali or Komodo Island or somewhere and willing to fill I-134 but assured it was not required for us as we are not depending on him financially. Still, I kept old form in my collection. Main documents were wife’s salary and ITR related and my retirement and investment documents. Took a copy of our house registration also in case required. Kept everything in a transparent file cover. Got all these done in 2/3 days and waited for the interview which seemed to take eternity.

Finally, like VAC, departed from Pondy on 18th afternoon and reached Kodambakkam guest house by 5.00 PM. Morning after breakfast reached my (ex) office in the pretence of meeting old friends and parked the car inside. Kept all items (phones, car keys, purse etc.,) in a bag and kept in an office room (except the documents required for the interview which were carried in a cloth bag with a water bottle in case required) and reached the consulate by 10.15 AM and joined in the line outside. Even though the line seemed to have more people, within 30 minutes we were inside after a check on our passports. Inside we were asked about preferred language and majority told English only (for other 4 South Indian Languages plus Hindi/Urdu there were separate lines). Finally, we reached counter (there were more than 15 counters) and our interview conversation went like this:

The Consulate officer asked only the passports.

“Any relatives in USA”
“Our son is working in USA in H1B visa”
“What is his job position”
“Analyst. Financial analyst” (Actually I could not remember the post immediately)
“Which is his state”
(I misunderstood the question that she was asking about his status) I replied again as H1B
She repeated the question “which state in USA”
“New York city”
“You are working or pensioner”
“I had retired as executive from a Public Sector Undertaking. She (pointing to wife) is working in Central Govt. “
“Are you getting any pension”
“No. They gave only lumpsum. But she is in pensionable job”.
“How many years”
(we misunderstood again thinking about her retirement which would be in 2029).
She repeated the question “how many years she has been working “
“Nearly 25 years”
“Do you have any property here”
“yes”
“Any other children?”
“No. only one son”
she bundled our passports with rubber band.

She was typing during the conversation which indicated come kind of questionnaire she was following. Then she did some more typing in the system and finally uttered the magic words” your visa is approved. Have a Safe journey”. I was relieved like a just delivered mother. The seed implanted one year ago, given the fruit now.

We returned back to the office, collected out items and started for Pondy and reached home around 5 P.M. I checked through tracking link which said the visa is approved (with a note that it might get rejected during visa processing). On 26th (again Thursday) I received a call from BlueDart about the pickup of the passports. So, it took exactly 3 working days for despatch (Saturday being weekly off and Monday and Tuesday being closed holidays for the consulate). Copies of Adhaar card is required to be carried along with Copy of Appointment letter and Rs 850/- per passport (Authorisation letter from spouse/family is also required as per the guidelines but not asked for). Finally, our Visa adventure ended well.

Important Points:

1. Both VAC(Biometric) and Consulate office have Drinking water and toilet facilities.
2. Both of them don’t have parking facility. But parking can be done in nearby by lanes. In case of VAC, Arcot road itself on the opposite side would be ok.
3. In VAC mobiles, bags are allowed (mobiles to be off or silent). But they did not allow iPads. In VAC we were told nothing is allowed in Consulate except the required documents. But latter we found that only items with battery/electronic chip are not allowed. Car/Bike/Scooter keys without battery (normal) are allowed. (So, outstation candidates can bring the simple hotel rooms keys but not the cards with chips).
4. Regarding the time slots, it was followed somewhat in VAC but in Consulate only date is checked not the time slot (confirmed by the security).
5. For DS-160 corrections we were told to go to any browsing centre but I am sure that it could be done only in the centres around VAC. Corrections are supposed to be done by VAC, similar to Passport office, but due to lack of time and resources, might have given authorisation for the browsing centres nearby.
6. Since anybody can book appointment in any of the 5 consulates it is better to check all the documents before leaving for the interview. While doing DS-160 correction at the browsing centre, one candidate (from Mumbai) was enquiring about the requirement of passports for VAC as he had forgotten to bring his passport. We asked him to check with VAC which confirmed that up to 5.30 PM they would wait (his appointment was for 11 AM). It is better to allow others also in our family to check our documents so that if we miss anything they could point out (parents and others could involve more as youngsters have a knack for being casual).
7. Both in VAC and in Consulate, the initial line was outside the building so in rainy days it might create problems.
8. Many people who got dates in 2025 cancelled the booking once or even twice and finally got 2023. Some people did the same through agents (charged around 15000/-) who watch the cancellation of slots or addition of slots by frequently checking the system.
9. No Personal documents were asked for, not even office Id cards, in our case (similar cases observed by others in Chennai and Mumbai centres also). No need for proof of any travel plan or tickets or accommodation bookings (Only tentative plan to be filled in DS-160).
10. From 29 July 2023 some changes have been done. 1. Application fees increased. 2.New site created for booking (those already booked using old site need not do anything for attending interviews, like us but registration in new site is must for checking information as login to old site is stopped and our data is transferred already.) for new slot booking. 3. Rs 850/- as single courier charges (previously 650/- for pickup from Courier office). I opted for Courier due to the fact that I had to spend 2000/- if I go by car to pick up in Chennai from Pondy. But I had forgotten about bus travel (Post Covid bus travel is totally stopped) by which I could have got the passport for Rs 500/-. Courier service is useful for people from long distance.
11. For One year waiting at our homes and one hour waiting at the interview centres, final action takes only one minute (in both VAC and Consulate).

[dean5545]

Hi,
Until recently DS-160 modification was possible since I did the same for my wife’s DS-160. But from August I think they have now changed the portal's working hence you can’t change the DS-160 now.

In Mumbai there is parking available next to Ambani school.

I had booked my wife’s appointment in February 2023 and first got June 2024 as the date but with some regular checking was able to bring it down to October 2023 in April itself. Didn’t try after that since I was comfortable with October 2023.


As compared to the Schengen visa process I find the USA one way better as their list of documents is not that exhaustive(Greece embassy wants an apostile done of your marriage certificate from Ministry of External affairs if spouse name is not added in the passport.).

And once approved at least B1/B2 is issued for a tenure of 10 years unlike the Schengen ones which issue the visa only for a period little more than the intended travel date. Also no need to book flight tickets.

[Spaced Out]

Originally Posted by dean5545

As compared to the Schengen visa process I find the USA one way better as their list of documents is not that exhaustive(Greece embassy wants an apostile done of your marriage certificate from Ministry of External affairs if spouse name is not added in the passport.).

And once approved at least B1/B2 is issued for a tenure of 10 years unlike the Schengen ones which issue the visa only for a period little more than the intended travel date. Also no need to book flight tickets.

I have had US, UK & Schengen visa. I will agree with you that the US visa is by far the fairest process with a 10 year business visa being the norm. UK & Schengen is a royal pain and I would avoid those in the future, when I can.

One tip for travellers: book Etihad Airways for US travel. You will go through your US Customs screening at Abu Dhabi itself and it will be a domestic flight after that . No US customs check at your final destination.

[Amrik Singh]

Congratulations for getting the Visa and wish you a happy journey ahead.
First of all, some of the woes you had in your ordeal were self created. For example, filling up old Passport details, carrying iPad etc. are quite common mistakes that could have been avoided.
I had seen a Girl applying for Student Visa for Canada, reach VAC without her Passport as she had uploaded all her documents 'Online'.
The Mantra for US Visa is to satisfy the Visa Officer that 'You have strong reason to return back to India'. Be it a secure and well paying job, assets, real estate, family ties etc.

[vjbox]

Good to know you got your visas approved. We live in such era where the wait times are crazy! Of all the visas I have / had, US Visa is definitely the most efficient. I was lucky to get mine renewed/ reissued just a month before covid in 2020. I had the drop box option then. UK, Canada and especially Schengen has been a pain. We went on a holiday last month and had to submit a pile of documents to get our Schengen visa through Swiss embassy. Too much time and resources wasted and surprising to see EU following a very dated process. Even the Australia visitor visa was easier to obtain and it was simply emailed to us with no need of passport submissions.

[condor]

Query regarding renewal of a tourist visa to USA:

My mother had a visitor/Tourist visa for the USA, but has now expired. What would be the process to renew it ? Documents ?

Stay in USA is not an issue, and mother has been to the US on two long visits earlier

Note: we are in Bangalore

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by condor

Query regarding renewal of a tourist visa to USA:

My mother had a visitor/Tourist visa for the USA, but has now expired. What would be the process to renew it ? Documents ?

Fill application Online. If you are applying at the same Consulate where the previous Visa was issued, when you complete all sections of Application, a message should Pop advising you of 'Drop Box' Facility for the applicant. Submit Fees as instructed and take appointment for submission of Application at VAC (VFS Office)

[mpksuhas]

Thanks to this detailed thread, was able to go through my visa interview without any second guessing about steps.

Step1 - Applying April 2023

Myself and wife was planning on applying for US Tourist visa since a while (B1/B2). There is no immediate plan on visiting US. However, we wanted to get a US visa since it comes with 10 years validity, doesn't require flight / hotel bookings and also, multiple country gives VoA/ E-Visa if you have Indian passport + US Visa.

So, tried getting slot around April 2023. The earliest dates available were in Feb of 2024, went ahead and booked the slots since there was no hurry.

Step 2 - Biometrics - 7 Feb 2024

On the day of appointment, reached VAC at Chennai some half hour before the slot time of 09.00 AM. Was let through, no waiting outside as such. Inside, there was a queue in first floor and then again at the floor where biometric center is located. Both queues, I guess took around 15 mins or so. Its fairly fast moving, since the counters are more in number.

Had to show appointment letter + current passport + DS 160. No other questions or documents required. They pasted a sticker on backside of passport which stays till the time it reaches back to us past the visa approval. The sticker basically has a barcode and details like what type of visa, what is the mode of delivery etc.

So, past that, a queue , then photo and fingerprint taken in one counter. Myself and wife was moved to different counters, entire process was done and we were out by around 09.15 AM.

Phones have to kept in switched off condition. Apart from that, no other major restrictions while going here. Parking is available around this place, but not easy - residential area, so one need to search and find the location to park.


BioMetric Center location


Step 3: Visa interview - 16 -Feb-2024

Visa interview, we had selected for a later date near to weekend so that its easier to visit / get leave etc.
So slot was for 08.00 AM, I would suggest everyone to take this slot if available, since past that, one has to wait near road for your time. They don't allow entry in to consulate if your slot is much later.

I assume 08.00 AM is the first slot for the day, we reached there around 07.40 AM and was let through to the consulate directly. At entrance DS 160 & appointment letter was checked and passport verified for name. Language preference for interview was also checked there.

Then inside, you need to go through security screening and past that you reach a waiting area / queue.

Queue for regional languages are smaller and was empty after the first 15 mins or so. Some 30 mins in waiting, our chance came, the visa officer asked both our current passport, asked couple of generic questions - Why are you going / Working ? What do you do? / Who is sponsoring the trip / Family / parents here in India?

No documents were asked or checked for. Past that he said, visa is approved and we came out after handing over passport there.

Do note that they don't allow electronic devices - phones, remote keys etc inside. Wallet, smaller bags etc are okay.


Location


There is metro station walkable distance from the consulate. So we took metro and returned home since it was peak office time.


Step 4: Passport delivery -

Past the interview, online it was shown that visa was approved. However, the status remained the same for few days.

Then on 21 Feb, it got changed to Issued.

And then on 23 Feb it got delivered. Do note that there is no update once the passport is shipped. Only message we got was the one with OTP when shipment was out for delivery was received.

I had opted for home delivery which costed Rs 850 / passport. Though the appointment was together / single one for me and wife, the shipment fees has to be paid separately and comes in two packages. Also, the payment is done when shipment is received, its not collected as part of the visa payment.

Other option is to select delivery option as any of the centers available in your city. However, for that you will have to go there and collect it. That was cheaper by few hundred rupess, though I forgot the amount.

[varkey]

We recently went through the B1/B2 US Visa process and had a good experience. I had not seen this thread prior to it unfortunately.

August 2023

Filled the DS-160 for both wife and myself, and created a family application in the new portal and then paid the fee, 370 USD for both of us. The initial appointment I got was in October 2024 in Hyderabad.

However I kept checking every other day and I had even seen an appointment for September 2023 ie just 2-3 weeks ahead (I went through the flow till I could select consular), but unfortunately the dates were not convenient for us, so didn't opt for it. Few days later, I found a slot for March 2024 for VAC in Chennai and April 2024 for Consular in Delhi. At the time, thought we could make it a small vacation in Chennai/Delhi and went ahead with the booking.

March 2024
Due to some change in personal circumstances, it was no longer a good time for us to travel, however after some back and forth, we decided to go ahead with the VAC appointment and thought we could possibly reschedule the consular appointment as travelling to Delhi might have been difficult.

So we drove to Chennai from Bengaluru the previous day. Started around 3-4 PM and reached the hotel near the VAC at around 11 PM. We drove slowly and had an EV charging and dinner stop as well. We had booked a room at Upar Hotels, Nungambakkam, walkable from/to the VAC. Found it decent for the price (around 2k) including breakfast.

Next day morning, we left the hotel at 8 AM by foot, and reached the VAC at 8:15 or so. Went inside right away, it seemed less crowded, and within no time, we were past the two holding locations. After that they verified the appointment details, and passport and led us to the final queue for the biometrics capture. This too was pretty quick and were out by 8:45 AM, less than 30 min. All they needed was the current passport, appointment confirmation and DS-160 confirmation. A barcode was affixed behind the passport as well.
We drove back to Bengaluru sometime after, and reached home by 4-5 PM.

I tried to reschedule the consular appointment but the new portal wasn't letting us. It kept throwing an error saying our payment has expired. I opened multiple support cases through the portal, called their phone support number, but no resolution. They kept saying they have escalated the technical issue, but nothing really happened. Since it wasn't clear what would happen if we miss the appointment, would we lose the fee payment, would we have an option to reschedule after missing the appointment etc, around March 24 or so, we decided to go ahead with the original appointment and booked the return flight tickets to Delhi.

April 2024

Since we'd be coming back the next day, we drove to Bengaluru airport with our car and parked at P2 parking. It's Rs 600 for first day and Rs 350 for each additional day, plus EVs get 20% discount
The flight was originally scheduled for 7:30 PM, but due to a delay in departure of an earlier flight during the day, our's was rescheduled to 9:30 PM. Luckily there were no further delays, and we departed on time.
Once at Delhi IGI Airport, we took a cab to a hotel at Safdarjung Enclave. The next day post breakfast around 9 AM went to the US Embassy which was 10 min away by car.

Once at the embassy, we found that there was no locker facility for storing our mobile phones. Since we were at a different city, wasn't very comfortable to travel without a phone and I'd assumed there would be some locker facility. Anyway the securitys at the embassy directed us to a juice shop on wheels on the opposite road where we can store our phones for a fee. We weren't comfortable with it, but we had no option, and asked the guy to hold on to our phones. His fee was Rs 100 per device. There was a security check outside the premises followed by a similar check inside the embassy area. They only checked the appointment date, and not the time. At the first holding area, we were seated in rows. After around 20 min wait, our row was sent inside the consular area of the embassy. At this place, our appointment and passports were verified, followed by biometric verification. Then we had to again stand in the queue for the interview. We waited around an hour, until our turn.

Coming to our interview, we were asked, what is your job, where in US are you travelling to, why are you travelling there. That's it and we were told the visa is approved and it would be ready in one week. The entire interview process hardly took 2 minutes.
While we were waiting in the queue, few visas were rejected, however the majority seemed to get approved. To some people many questions are asked, to some just a few.

We were out by 11 AM so around 1.5 hours for the whole interview process. We went to the juice seller and he promptly gave back our phones and we paid him the agreed amount. No drama, but it was indeed a bit scary to leave our phones with a random stranger. We took an Uber back to the hotel, freshened up and left for the airport as we didn't have any other work. Had to wait at the airport for close to 6 hours, but we explored the T3 terminal, had food at the Encalm Lounge (which sucked). Reached Bengaluru airport on time, and went to the parking space to pick our car.

The parking attendant didn't by default apply the EV discount, but when I asked him about it, he quickly applied it. Was able to pay the fee by card, and we were on our way back home. For short trips like this, taking your car definitely makes sense.

Overall, found the whole process smooth except for the long delays in getting an appointment.