H1B Visa interview question

Hi:

I am trying to book an appointment at the hyderabad consulate for my H1B visa renewal. I completed the DS 160, and paid the fee and am ready to schedule the appointment. I did book one appointment for the OFC but it did not let me book my consulate interview, and I am told that we need two interviews since 2012 which is new to me as my last visa interview was in 2010.
Any help in this regard is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Bhaskar

Well yes, since 2012 new rules have been put in place for visa interviews.

Now you require to appear for two seperate processes, so two appointments are required.

Appointment 1: Biometrics - you have to submit photographs and finger prints to the visa processing company. In India, Stanley VFS is the company responsible for collecting Biometrics. They will put a stamp on your DS-160 that you biometrics have been successfully recorded.

Appointment 2: Visa interview - you have to appear for a Visa Interview in the US Consulate which you selected in DS-160. They Visa Officer will check if your biometrics have been updated in their system and then continue with the interview. The biometrics get updated almost on a real-time basis.

I scheduled my Biometrics and Visa Interview back to back (Thursday/Friday)