Dropbox Stamping India: Can Drop off Documents at Any Location

USTravelDocs India announced a significant update that allows US Visa Interview Waiver, also called Dropbox, applicants to submit documents at any location starting from April 4th, 2022.

In this article, we will review complete details about the announcement, like how it would work, changes to the Dropbox confirmation message, changes in appointment letters, responses from customer support, user experiences, and other common FAQs.

USTravelDocs: Dropbox Applicants can submit Documents at any VAC Location

In the past, there was no need for an appointment for Dropbox applicants to submit their documents. But, starting from September 2019, Interview Waiver or Dropbox Stamping in India requires applicants to book an appointment to drop off documents.

In the past, there were restrictions on where you could submit the documents for Dropbox or interview waiver. In the same context, USTravelDocs India made an announcement on their website in April 2022 that read as follows:

“Effective April 4, 2022, applicants can submit their interview waiver applications free of cost at any of the Visa Application Centers (VAC) where the Embassy or Consulate is located. If applicants wish to submit at any other location, a nominal fee of Rs 650/- per passport will be charged in cash at the time of submission.”

Below is the screenshot of the announcement of the same:

In the next sections, let’s dive into the details of how it works.

How does it work? Where can you drop off the documents?

In the past, there were restrictions that you can only submit documents at locations related to that consulate. As per the announcement, if you qualify for an Interview Waiver or Dropbox Submission for your US Visa Stamping, then you can drop off documents for the Dropbox stamping at any of the 11 locations across India and there are no restrictions by location of the US Consulate.

For Example: In the past, if you selected New Delhi Embassy, you could drop off documents at New Delhi VAC, Chandigarh Center, and Jalandhar Center. Or, let’s say you selected, Hyderabad Consulate, then you could only submit at Hyderabad VAC. Similarly, there were restrictions for the drop-off of documents for each consulate with listed cities.

Now, with the new announcement, starting from April 4th, 2022, the restriction of location tied to a US Consulate is not there anymore. It means, as an applicant, you have the choice to drop off documents at any of the 11 locations across India.

For Example: Now with the announcement from April 4th, 2022, if you selected New Delhi Embassy, then you can drop off documents anywhere in India at the listed locations like Mumbai VAC, Chennai VAC, Pune, Kochi, etc. The only catch is, that you would need to pay Rs 650 INR fee, if you drop off documents at a location that is not a US Embassy or US Consulate Location. We will look at the details below.

Where can Dropbox Applicants Submit Documents? Free vs Paid Locations?

As per the new announcement, starting from April 4th, 2022, all Dropbox or Interview Waiver Applicants can submit or drop off (including pickup) documents for free at all the US Consulates and US Embassy locations in India. If the applicant is submitting documents at a location that is not a US Consulate or US Embassy city, then there is a fee of Rs 650 INR per applicant.

This is effective starting from April 4th, 2022 and continued in 2023 and is also in effect in 2024 as well and in the foreseeable future.

Below is the full list of locations where applicants can submit/pickup documents for free and where they need to pay the fee

US Dropbox Appointment Confirmation Letter – List of Locations

Below is the sample US Dropbox Appointment Letter shared by one of our community members, who has a dropbox appointment for June 28th, 2022. Thanks to the user for sharing the info. Really appreciate it!

If you look closely, the appointment confirmation letter on page 3 says “Documents can be only submitted on Appointment Date at below Locations ONLY…” and lists the location and if it is free or paid. Below is the exact screenshot of the letter for your info.

Comparison with Old Appointment Confirmation Letter

To clarify, let’s compare the Dropbox Appointment Confirmation letter before and after the announcement.

The appointment confirmation letter for anyone submitting documents before April 4, 2022, it clearly says “Appointment Date at below Address ONLY“, but if you are submitting documents after April 4, 2022, it says “Appointment Date at below Locations ONLY”

The main difference is ‘Address’ vs. ‘Locations’. For before April 4th appointment confirmation letter, it has a list of one address or more addresses. But, for after April 4th, 2022 appointment confirmation letter has the list of all locations across India. It lists all the 11 locations across India and indicates if it is free or paid. See the below screenshot that compares both side-by-side.

Dropbox Qualification Confirmation Message Changed

As you go through the US Visa Appointmentment booking questionnaire like in H1B Dropbox Step by Step Guide, if you qualify for Dropbox, you would get a confirmation message at the end that tells, if you qualify for an interview waiver or dropbox submission.

In the past, this confirmation message that reads “Congratulations! You qualify for the Interview Waiver. You will need to ….” used to have the list of locations where you could submit documents for interview waiver or dropbox appointment. It used to clearly show the Consulate or Embassy location and the list of allowed locations for Submission. Now, that “Locations of submission” section is removed. See the below screenshot of the updated confirmation message

Comparison with Old Dropbox Confirmation Message

Below is a comparison of the previous confirmation message and the latest confirmation message after the change. As you can see in the below screenshot, the section of “Locations of Submission” is completely removed in the latest confirmation message. This further clarifies that there are no restrictions on where you can drop off documents.

USTravelDocs Customer Service Response on Locations to Submit

Some of our community users, reached out to USTravelDocs Customer Support to get clarification on where they can submit documents. The response is very clear and confirms that applicants are free to submit documents at any of the 11 locations in India. They need to pay Rs 650 INR, if they choose a location that is not a US Consulate or US Embassy City.

Below is the response screenshot for your review. Thanks to the community user for sharing it in our US Visa Stampings India Telegram group.

Below is another customer service response from April 4th, 2022 confirming the same.

Overall, this new option to submit documents across 11 locations in India is really good news for many as they do not have to travel to specific cities now. Also, with the 48 months US Visa Dropbox Eligibility rule extended indefinitely and as certain first-time H1B, L1 Applicants can utilize the dropbox stamping now until the end of 2022, this will help a lot of applicants.

User Experiences: Submit Documents at Different Location

2024: In the year 2024 all users were able to submit without any issues and this continues to be in effect.

2023: In the year 2023 since the introduction of this, all users were able to submit without any issues.

2022 : In the last 3 months since the introduction of the option, many users in our community groups on Telegram and Facebook confirmed that they were able to submit documents at a location that is different from the original location that they booked.

Even if you drop off documents at a different location, in general, the processing time did not matter and it was essentially the same as before. But, in early June 2022, US Embassy updated that the processing times for Dropbox stamping is taking anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks, so be prepared. See below screenshot from US Embassy India Facebook page

Community Members Updates: Many of our community users in the US Visa Stamping India Telegram Group, had an appointment at one VAC location for Dropbox submission, but were able to submit in different location.

Below is one example of a user who was able to drop off documents at Mumbai VAC without any issues on the same day, when his location was Hyderabad. As per the person at the counter, the Visa will be processed at Hyderabad Consulate only and not at Mumbai.

Common FAQs

What do you think of the new change? Does it help? Share your experiences, and questions in the comments section below.