As most of you know, in the past, if you qualify for an interview waiver or dropbox appointment, there was no direct way to change the appointment to regular to apply for an expedited or emergency appointment. The US Embassy in India suggested that you had to answer a question wrong to change that to a regular appointment to apply for an emergency appointment.
During the most recent Facebook Live with Mr. Don Heflin, where he updated the US Consulates appointments situation for 2023, he indicated that there is a change coming to the USTravelDocs system that would allow the option to change a dropbox to the regular appointment so that users can apply for an expedited appointment. That change to their appointment booking system(CGI Federal) is rolled out now.
In this article, we will cover the process of how it would work and your options to change your appointment from dropbox to regular, if you need to apply for an expedited appointment.
Option to Change Dropbox to Regular for Emergency Appointment
In order to apply for a US Visa, you need to fill out DS-160 and then go to CGI federal website for the next steps. As you go through the USTravelDocs CGI Federal website questionnaire wizard for checking dropbox eligibility, in the end, if you qualify for dropbox, you would get a confirmation that says “Congratulations! You qualify for the interview waiver…”.
But, there is one small change from the past, now it will give you two options in the form of buttons: one for “Drop-off” for dropbox and the other is “Interview” for converting that to a regular in-person interview appointment. Also, the system shows a message that reads in red as below to choose the option based on your situation.
“If you believe your travel is urgent and the first available date to schedule a document drop-off appointment is beyond your desired travel date, you will need a regular in-person visa interview appointment. You can schedule a regular in-person Interview appointment at the Embassy or a Consulate by first scheduling your biometric appointment at an OFC and then an Embassy/ Consulate appointment to be able to request an emergency appointment”
If you want to change your dropbox appointment to an in-person regular appointment to apply for an emergency appointment, you should click on the button that says ‘Interview”. The new option to select an interview option looks as in the below screenshot.
After you click on the ‘Interview‘ button, you will get another screen to make sure you did not click on it by mistake. They give you the link to USTravelDocs.com website to check the requirements for an emergency or expedite the appointment. Also, they will some more text to ensure you really qualify for the emergency appointment.
If you change your mind and want to stick with the dropbox option, you can click on the ‘Drop-off’ button. But, if you think your case qualifies for an emergency appointment, then you choose the ‘Interview’ button. It looks like as in the below screenshot.
Let’s say you change your mind after seeing the dates of availability or have done something wrong, you can click on the ‘Back’ button as shown in the above screenshot and start over to come to the options to choose a dropbox appointment.
You may also read Step by Step Guide to book H1B Dropbox Appointment with Screenshots
Emergency Appointment Qualifications
They have repeatedly mentioned on Facebook Live sessions that they do not approve all emergency appointment requests. They only approve, if the request meets the qualifications for an emergency appointment such as urgent medical need, funeral or death of a family member, urgent business travel, and Student/ Exchange visitors in urgent need to travel.
They say clearly on their website that the below do not qualify for an emergency appointment
- Attending Weddings, Graduation Ceremonies
- Helping Pregnant relatives
- Going to annual conferences either professional or academic
- Last-minute tourism requests.
Below is the screenshot of the actual list from the USTravelDocs Expedite appointment page
Existing Dropbox Appointment – Change to Regular for Emergency
They have not listed any guidance on their website regarding converting an existing currently booked dropbox appointment to a regular appointment to apply for an emergency appointment request.
Technically, in order to apply for an emergency appointment, you need to book both biometrics and an in-person appointment, then only you can request an emergency appointment. So, the only option that we can think of is to cancel your current dropbox appointment and then start over with the questionnaire, so that you can get the option to choose ‘Interview’ option as we explained above. This way you can choose the options in the new changed system and you can book the in-person appointment.
Note: We suggest, you check with USTravelDocs support on the above guidance before you go ahead and do anything like cancel your dropbox appointment. As this is a new option, we do not have many user experiences as well. We will wait for our community of users to share their feedback and experiences and update this article as we have more info.
What do you think of the new option to change dropbox to regular appointments for emergency requests? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Hi, I am currently on H4 visa from June 2023. Previously, my status was H1-B visa. I have visa stamping from consulate for H1-B with dates in 2015. Am i currently eligible for dropbox submission with my spouse (he’s on h1 and is eligible for dropbox)
Can you book an in-person interview if you are dropbox eligibile? Does it need to emergency appointment. They ‘strongly recommend’ for people eligible for dropbox to do dropbox but interview dates are available sooner then drop box and I want travel in the next few weeks.
Were you able to do this?
Were you able to do this Adi? Were there any issues to your visa decision if you answer the Interview waiver question wrong and go with the Interview option instead of dropbox?
My Dropoff Appointment was on May 19th, 2023 and was marked as no-show owing to non-availability of fingerprints(Actually fingerprints were given in Dec 2013 when the student was running 13+). If the VAC agents had this in place , they could have moved it to interview option and asked the student to opt for dates as per availability at the counter at the timeslot. However No Show marking on profile is preventing a display of OFC and VI slots (90 days?) making it impossible to book slots for Fall 2023 MS Program. In spite of repeated emails to USTraveldocs Support team we are not getting right assistance to atleast display the slots for choosing aVAC. What possible alternatives is there for student to complete these prerequisites? Without booking OFC and VI Slots in an Embassy where available for any date(if only one VAC is available and not others) how can we book an emergency appointment for a desired location to claim student emergency within 60 days to travel?
My profile marked as No show and now I can’t see any appointments but i need to get my interview done because i have my class start date on 21st August. What can i do? Please help me .
I’ve already talked to the customer service people and they say that i have to wait for 120days as my profile have been tagged under No show status.
Can we connect Ritesh , I have same issue as well
What is the customer service? I do not see a number anywhere. Please help
Me and my son(7yrs) create a profile and choose dropbox appointment and we paid a visa fee.Now i heard my son is not eligible for dropbox,can I change dropbox to regular?
Hi Sara, did you get any guidance on your case. I am in a similar situation.
Were you able to change it to in person? I am in similar situation.
Did you have to pay the fees again?
Is there a way to change my regular B2 visa appointment to interview waiver since i have expired L2 visa but i can’t renew it since i crossed 21years old
My visa has the eligibility for Dropbox, now this “Document Drop Box” confirmation is also done, Now that I want to change to In-Person and add my Wife and Daughter. Please tell me the process for this
Nuthan,
You cannot, unless you cancel yours first. Also, you cannot just pick in-person, unless you have an emergency.
Is it possible to change the Appointment date to an early date for my wife and kid? currently, the date selected is Sep 11 for Chennai embassy.
Nuthan,
If all are part of an appointment, you can book usually one date for all of them as a group. If separate, sure, you can.
My wife & kid never came to US and not eligible for Dropbox but I am eligible for Dropbox. is it fine to book the Appointment by adding my dependents as a Group for an Interview ?
Srini,
No, you cannot add like that. Everyone should be eligible for dropbox, then only you can do that.
Hi,
I am eligible for Dropbox but I need an expedited interview because my university is beginning in the second week of January. When I click on interview after getting a congratulatory msg I do not see any interview slot or biometric appointments. But I do see Dropbox slots for mid 2023. Are Dropbox slots eligible for emergency interviews? Pls help!
hi Sir,
Currently iam in Chennai, my B1/L1 and H1 were expired after stamping.
Can i apply for the renewal of B1/H1 from Mumbai as the appointment wait times for the waiver is less there ?
Can my Dropbox appointment for C1D visa renewal be cancelled by the US Embassy? I got my appointment on 25thOct2022, then, I contacted my agency in Mumbai, they told me it was cancelled and they have to reschedule my appointment. I have no idea whether to believe it or not. Can you please brief abit with your knowledge. Thank you
Zothapuii,
It is hard to say, sometimes some appointments get cancelled for various reasons.
Hi,
I’ve just tried this new process to get an emergency appointment for my H1B. I have not booked a Dropbox appointment yet, but am Dropbox eligible. I first tried the method detailed by Kumar here. No luck. I did get to the biometrics appointment page. After I chose an appointment for biometrics and pressed “continue”, it took me to the “there are currently no appointments available…” page. I tried all the centres. If anyone has success, do let us know.
Gary,
Can you clarify, what you mean by did not work that was suggested in the article? Trying to understand, what you mean. If there is no appointment, you will not be able to book an appointment. The process is correct, if there are no slots, no one can do anything. You need to keep checking. If you find dropbox slots earlier book that.
I am senior citizen 67 years old . My USA B1/B2 visa is valid upto 30/11/2023. I want to renue my said viza. I would like to have a valuable guiadance in this matter and oblige.
Balubhai,
You can renew it, fill out DS-160, then go to USTravelDocs and apply for an appointment. Process is very straightforward.