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How many times can I reschedule my US Visa Appointment? India? Others?

US Consulates and US Embassies provide US Visa stamping services for anyone seeking a US Visa. As part of the process to apply for US Visa, one needs to book an appointment for the same at these locations.  Depending on the country and demand for getting a US Visa, there can be wait times for getting US visa appointments. To avoid long wait times and abuse of appointment the system, the US consulates limit the number of times someone can use the visa appointment fee for scheduling or changing appointments.

In this article, we will outline what does US visa appointment reschedule mean, how it varies by country, and how many times you can do the same with guidance on the same from official sources and communication with the visa appointment system support team.

What is rescheduling or changing US Visa Appointment?

If for some reason, you cannot attend your US Visa appointment, either in-person visa interview with the consular officer or for giving Biometrics, the visa appointment booking system provides an option to change the appointment date and time. This option to modify or change the visa appointment times is called the rescheduling option or change of appointments option.  This change of appointment can be done for the in-person interview at US Consulate, for biometrics given at Visa Application Center (VAC), or for both.

How to reschedule or change US Visa appointment? Confirmation?

The appointment booking system at USTravelDocs.com, which points to CGI Federal website, provides the option to reschedule/ change or cancel the existing appointment. You can use the reschedule option for OFC Appointment which is for Biometrics collection and Visa interview appointment at Consulate.   Let’s look at how it works.  

If you are scheduling an appointment for the first time, you would see only the option that says “New Application / Schedule Appointment” as in the below screenshot on the left-hand side navigation. After you do this step, then you will see the re-schedule option.

New Appointment - Schedule Appointment Screen
New Appointment – Schedule Appointment Screen

Once you book the appointment and want to reschedule or change the same, you will have the option to reschedule, cancel, or even request an emergency appointment. To reschedule, you should click on the option in left-hand navigation that says “Reschedule Appointment”. It will clearly tell on this screen about your current appointment, when it is scheduled on the screen saying “Your current appointment is scheduled for …”.

Also, you would see on the top where it says, if it is for biometrics at OFC or for a visa interview. See the below screenshot that shows the same.

Reschedule US Visa Appointment - Booking Screen
Reschedule US Visa Appointment – Booking Screen

After you reschedule the appointment and it is successful, you would get a confirmation message that says “Your Appointment has been rescheduled”. See the below screenshot on how it looks.

Appointment Rescheduled Confirmation
Appointment Rescheduled Confirmation

You can also see the history of your US Visa appointment reschedules that you have done by clicking on the “Appointment History” in the left navigation, it will show you the complete list of your previous and current appointments with Appointment Date, Applicant Name, Consulate/ Post location, Visa Type and Status. See the below screenshot on how it looks.

US Visa Appointment Rescheduling History
US Visa Appointment Rescheduling History

How many times can I change my US Visa appointment?

The number of times you can change or reschedule the US Visa appointment totally varies by country. Depending on the staff, and wait times of appointments, you can re-schedule the visa appointments in the online system anywhere from 2 to 6 times.

The US Consulates or US Embassy in a particular country defines how many times you can schedule an appointment with a Visa application fee receipt (MRV fee receipt). We will look at the number of times for some of the common countries like India, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, and others.

How many times can I reschedule my US Visa appointment in India?

You can apply for US Visa appointment in India at 4 US consulates ( Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata) and 1 US embassy (New Delhi). The appointment booking system is managed by USTravelDocs and CGI Federal website.  The USTravelDocs.com India Appointments scheduling page, does not tell the exact number of times, you can schedule or reschedule your US Visa appointment. All it tells is that you have a limited number of times you can reschedule. See below screenshot.

Scheduling your appointment US Visas India
Scheduling your appointment US Visas India

As the number of times, you can schedule or reschedule is not available for the public, one of our blog readers (anonymous – thanks to the user) reached out the USTravelDocs CGI Federal customer service to enquire the same.

As per them, in India, using the MRV Fee receipt (Visa fee receipt), you can schedule visa appointments up to 5 times.  These 5 times include the initial appointment scheduling. What it means is that you can re-schedule or change the appointment for 4 times after your initial appointment.  See below screenshot of the exact email inquiry and the response from them.  

US Visa Reschedule Appointments Count 5 times India Confirmation
US Visa Reschedule Appointments Count 5 times India Confirmation
US Visa Stamping Receipt Valid 5 times - 4 reschedules - Customer Service Response - 2022
US Visa Stamping Receipt Valid 5 times – 4 reschedules – Customer Service Response – 2022

Many of our users in social media groups confirmed the same that we can re-schedule or change appointments only 4 times after the initial setup.  If you want to confirm again, you can also reach out to US Consulates in India using their email, phone for double confirmation.

One more thing, the system would tell you, if you cannot reschedule anymore. Let’s look at that now.  

Update on Number of reschedules in India by Head of US Consulates

On September 29th, 2022 during Facebook Live Q & A, the Head of US Consulates in India hinted that they may reduce the number of reschedules possible from 3 to 2 as in India as many are doing too many rescheduling of appointments.

Based on the past data, and confirmation from USTravelDocs and our users’ experiences, we can assume that the Head of US Consulates in India probably meant changing the total number of reschedules from 4 to less than four. We may see it go down to three or two, we do not know it yet for sure. Some users have been telling they did only two or three reschedules and they see the message that exceeded the total number of reschedules, but it is not fully confirmed. We will keep you posted on how this would look based on user experiences.

Below is the actual screenshot from the Facebook live Q &A Session

Update on How many times can you reschedule in future
Update on How many times can you reschedule appointments in future

Update from USTravelDocs from Oct 2022 – No Clarity on How many times

We have reached out to USTravelDocs Support to clarify on the number of times someone can reschedule the US Visa appointments in India. Unlike before, they have not given a number, all they say is “you can reschedule the maximum time the system allows to schedule/ re-schedule”. So, it is unclear how many times, you can really reschedule now. Despite emailing them multiple times, all of them resulted in the same response as in the below screenshot.

We have reached out US Embassy as well after the below experience, let’s look at that.

How many times can you reschedule Appointment - Update from October 2022
How many times can you reschedule Appointment – Update from October 2022

Update from US Embassy in New Delhi – Oct 2022 – How many times

We have reached out to the US Embassy in New Delhi after the above response from USTravelDocs Support team to confirm the total number of times, you can reschedule your appointment in the portal. They confirmed that you can re-schedule your appointment 4 times before you have to pay MRV Fee again. Below is their exact response

“Please note that if the applicant has cancelled/ rescheduled the appointments more than four times, then the visa fees get used at the last attempt and the receipt gets locked”

From the above, it is pretty clear that you can reschedule only 4 times and if you exceed that your receipt gets locked and you need to pay MRV Fee again. Below is the screenshot of the email response from them on October 28th, 2022

How many times can you reschedule guidance from US Embassy New Delhi
How many times can you reschedule guidance from US Embassy New Delhi

At least from the US Embassy side, it is clear that you can reschedule 4 times, but from the USTravelDocs support side, for some reason, they’re not giving a concrete answer. Please plan accordingly and use the total number of reschedule chances wisely.

If you have an issue, reach out to US Embassy in New Delhi and use that to email the support team to get your changes, if they have been reduced by mistake.

What happens if US Consulate Cancels appointment? Do I lose a chance?

If the US Consulate or Embassy cancels the appointment for whatever reason it may be, they will waive the scheduling chance for the cancellation. This means they will not add up the total rescheduling count. Below is the screenshot of the confirmation from the USTravelDocs customer service on the same that says they will waive that chance.

US Visa Stamping Reschedule waived if cancelled by consulate
US Visa Stamping Reschedule chance waived if cancelled by Consulate

When you fill DS-160 form, you might have selected a Consulate location for an interview, but often times you may end up booking an appointment at a different location. In that case, you may wonder, how can you update DS 160 location after submission. For full info on that, read Can you update DS-160 location after submission? US Dept of State Guidance

How would I know, if I have used all my chances for appointment re-scheduling?

The system will give a message saying that you have used up all your chances to reschedule. This way you would know that you cannot re-schedule anymore with your current MRV fee receipt. You will see a message that says “If you cancel this appointment, then you will have exceeded the limit of appointments canceled, and will not be able to schedule another appointment until another MRV fee is paid”.   The text looks like in the below screenshot.

If you cancel this appointment - exceeded limit of appointments confirmation
If you cancel this appointment – exceeded limit of appointments confirmation

Update: From mid-2022, some users have reported that the message “If you cancel this appointment, then you will have ….” is misleading and there seems to be one more attempt left for you after you see this message. This is not clear and you should check with UStravelDocs Support before you cancel your appointment. Below is the most recent response from support

How many times can you reschedule appointment - USTravelDocs - CGI Federal Support Response
How many times can you reschedule appointment – USTravelDocs – CGI Federal Support Response

How many times can I reschedule my US Visa appointment in the Philippines?

The demand for US Visa appointments is much higher and there are fewer locations in the Philippines. So, US Embassy in Manila has restricted the total appointments you can schedule to 5 times with one visa fee payment receipt (MRV Visa Fee receipt).

You can schedule the initial appointment once and then you are given the option to reschedule the appointment four times. If you cancel your fourth rescheduled appointment, you will be asked to wait for 90 days. Below is the screenshot of official guidance from USTravelDocs Philippines Website

How many times can you reschdule us visa appointment in Philippines Info
How many times can you reschedule the US visa appointment in the Philippines Info

How many times do Japan Consulates allow rescheduling of US Visa Appointments?

Japan : In Japan, you can reschedule your US Visa appointment up to 6 times. If you exceed the 6 times, then you need to pay new MRV fee. Check below screenshot from USTravelDocs.com website of Japan.

Japan reschedule US Visa Appointment - how many times
Japan reschedule US Visa Appointment – how many times

How many times can you reschedule US Visa appointments in Thailand?

In Thailand, you can reschedule your US Visa appointment for a maximum of 3 times. If you exceed the 3 times, then you need to pay a new MRV fee. Check below screenshot from USTravelDocs.com website of Thailand.

Thailand reschedule US Visa Appointment - how many times
Thailand reschedule US Visa Appointment – how many times

As you can see, every country has different rules. The number of times you can re-schedule your US Visa appointment varies. So, you must reach out to the US Consulate or USTravelDocs CGI federal support team to get the correct answer. 

What was your experience re-scheduling your appointment in your country ? Add your comments, thoughts in comments.    

   

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79 Comments

  1. I have rescheduled my B1/B2 visa appointment three times already and now I want to reschedule again for a personal reason. Now if I pay the MRV again, will I lose the appointment that I currently have or will I just get option to reschedule in the CGI federal portal

    Reply
  2. Hello,
    Last year I have scheduled my H1B visa appointment for July 2023 at Chennai Consulate, India. Now I am thinking to change my status to H4 from H1B. Is it possible to convert H1B visa appointment to H4 visa appointment? If so, what is the procedure to convert?

    Reply
  3. In India, you can reschedule your dropbox appointment 2 times + initial appointment. please do not waste, as I was not aware about this, now I don’t have option to reschedule further.

    Reply
  4. I have used all of my 3 reschedule attempt. Now due to some emergency I want to get earlier schedule. How can I do that? Do I need to cancel the current appointment? How to pay new visa fee ?

    Reply
  5. For the benefit of anyone wondering about reschedule limits, for India it is 3 reschedules after initial appointment. If you see a message like –
    “If you cancel this appointment, then you will have exceeded the limit of appointments canceled, and will not be able to schedule another appointment until another MRV fee has been paid.”
    It means you have one last reschedule left. After you reschedule (after the above message appears), you are done and cannot reschedule anymore with the MRV. You won’t even see the reschedule Link. This is from my personal experience. Hope this helps.

    Reply
  6. I wanted to check on following:
    While applying for my mother B1/B2 visa ( she is more than 80 years old and applying for the first time) and we stay in Chandigarh
    Accordingly, she was eligible for dropbox and we got an appointment for US visa at Delhi VAC as there is no option for Chandigarh in the dropdown menu.
    Can I drop my documents at Chandigarh centre at the given date/ time slot or do I have to go to Delhi for doing so.
    Thanks

    Reply
  7. I am Pandemic Visa case when i applied in 2020 and it got cancelled . I have been logging in continuously since 2021 . I have never seen the Interview calendar opening . Only the message Currently no appointments available . what does that mean ? Is Visa interviews not happening or it hasbeen booked already ? Its very frustrating how we Indians are not getting the B1/ B2 Visa , while the consulate news says they have opened for all categories . Could you please tell us what is the real issue?

    Reply
  8. I applied for US B1/B2 visa on 15 th April but did not got the appointment date yet.
    I used to check for the OFC and interview date by clicking on the ‘Continue’ option on the left navigation bar. But now I could not see the continue option, it is only showing me ‘ New application/Schedule appointment ‘ option. Why it is so?
    Should I go for the new application and can I use the same receipt number for Fees?

    Reply
  9. Hi,
    I had got selected for h1b in sep 2021 year, due to some personal, it was delay till now. now i got interview slot in may2022.
    1. delay for stamping visa for one year, Is it fine?
    2. Can i reschedule to prior date of first appointment, if any slots available (any luck).

    Reply
  10. I have applied for US B1/B2 visa and i am eligible for interview waiver as per the guidelines, however, the OFC/Drop box date which i am getting is almost 1.5 months after the 48 months visa expiry date.

    I think i must apply for the normal visa processing because it is clearly mentioned in the visa guidelines that the dropbox appointment should be scheduled at-least 7 days prior to the 48 months from the visa expiry date.

    How can i book the normal OFC and Visa Interview because if i answer questions as per wizard, it always gives me to book dropbox appointment only

    Reply
  11. Hello,
    My first H1 is stamped in 2015 & expired in 2016.This is my first time traveling along with 3 H4 and my current visa is valid till next year. Is this a reason for not being eligible for IW?

    Reply
  12. Hello, my visa interview dates for F 4 cstegory is on 19th may,can I reschedule my visa interview dates now for the later dates of July?

    Reply
  13. Is it possible to cancel B2 visa appointment and reuse the MRV fee for new H1B appointment in India?
    Does submitting DS160, fee and appointment of B2 mean Consulate/USCIS has started the process and my record with uscis will include this?

    Reply
      • Hey Kumar,

        Sorry, i think I might have mis-quoted my question. What I’m trying to ask is even though I’m eligible for dropbox, can i still book an interview appointment by answering one of the questions(that determine dropbox eligibility) incorrectly? Thanks!

        Reply
        • Sanket,
          No, you should not. That is saying false information and you can be denied visa as you did not tell the truth.

          Reply
  14. Hi,

    I want to reschedule my visa appointment (both OFC and VAC). But when I go for rescheduling, it shows only for VAC.
    If I reschedule VAC appointment, will the system automatically reschedule OFC appointment as well?

    Reply
    • Kishore,
      VAC and OFC both are same. Did you mean Biometrics and Visa Interview ? If so, you can do that, only if the slots are available, if not, it will not be successful.

      Reply
  15. there is discrepancy under the section in the article above:

    “If you cancel this appointment, then you will have exceeded the limit of appointments canceled, and will not be able to schedule another appointment until another MRV fee is paid”

    This means , if you cancel, its gone with the current MRC receipt, but you can still reschedule 1 more time (final reschedule). I verified with the customer service agent.

    Reply
    • Anika,
      The number of times you rescheduled before is what matters. In total, you get 5 times, including the first time booking.

      Reply
      • Hi there,
        You only get total of 4 times, once you get that message. that’s it done. You not able to get option to schedule the appointment, have to pay the new fee.

        Reply
        • This would be 4 times of (ofc + consular) right? or each appointment is considered seperate? I only rescheduled twice and I am getting that message. Had to do ofc + consular both times because we have to select both before we are able to reschedule

          Reply
        • I rescheduled only 2 times (ofc+consular) and I am getting that message “if you cancel this you will have exceeded….”. According to article we can do 4 reschedules right? does this mean reschedule of ofc+consular or are they both counted seperately? because we cannot book one without the other and when we reschedule we have to schedule both and the same biometrics appointment may not be available.

          Reply
    • Correct. I can verify this as I had one more chance to reschedule after I got that message. It’s very deceiving and because of that the information provided in this page is incorrect.

      Reply
      • Selvaram,
        Interesting. In general, when you see the message, your chances are done as per the system. Also, it is validated by support and many of our users validated it. Not sure about why you had the extra one more time, it could have been a bug. If you are in doubt, you should contact the customer service I guess.

        Reply
    • Are u very sure, did u try after u got this warning message? I m also getting same msg, what should i do next as i cant attend the interview n i fear i will loose my visa fee amount

      Reply
  16. I tried to reschedule first time I cannot do it. Mumba in oct 2022 original but Kolkata slot is available in jun 16 , when I try to book it for ofc and continue, it shows mumbai no slot. why is it not letting my book Kolkata appointment. I have not rescheduled even single time.
    Please help

    Reply
  17. Hello, I had taken help from an agent to reschedule my appointment. He booked it for the wrong date and now all I see is a “group scheduling request” and not the reschedule appointment option. I have already once canceled before and rescheduled 4 times

    Can I do this one final time?

    Reply
    • Anisha,
      If you see the message on the top as in above article, you cannot do re-scheduling, you will lose the receipt and need to pay again. If you are in doubt, call the customer service.

      Reply
  18. Hi,

    I have paid my visa fees and i can see the receipt number as well now. When i move next, it shows me to Schedule OFC appointment. I had few clarifications regarding the same –
    1. Once selected and confirmed the slot, can i change the OFC appointment? If yes, how many times?
    2. After the OFC slot selection, will there be another option to select the slot for visa appointment or is it the same as OFC appointment?

    Thanks

    Reply
  19. I only rescheduled two times (1 original + 2 rescheduled) but when I try to reschedule again it gives me an error saying “you are approaching the maximum number of times you may view this page. Please complete your transaction at this time.” Does this mean I cannot reschedule more with this receipt or do I just need to wait for a few days?

    Reply
    • Its means you can made enough views before your account gets locked out. Logout and wait for some time, I would say 4 to 6 hours and log back in and retry.This is what happened to me .
      1.Initial schedule.
      2.Reschule the initial schedule.
      3.Cancel the reschedule.
      4.New schedule.
      5.Acidentally cancelled the schedule.
      6.Got new schedule again for April 20th .

      Now it shows me that I have reached the limit and I will need to pay MRV fee if I make any changes to the schedule. I am posting this for others benefit . It tehcnically allows 2 cancellations and 2 reschedules.

      Hope this helps.

      Shyam

      Reply
        • Kumar,
          According to what Shyam mentioned he have done totally 4 times including the first schedule, so after the warning msg still we got one last chance to reschedule right?

          Reply
      • actually we have scheduled for H4 appointment at chennai first and rescheduled to Hyderabad on May. But not we want to schedule in June at chennai. now how to do it. whether to cancel and new schedule or directly reschedule. regards lalitha

        Reply
      • I booked my OFC slot and interview slots, but unfortunately, for some reason I had to cancel them. Now can I reschedule my both OFC and interview appointment for next dates or do I need to pay visa fee again for the appointment.

        Reply
  20. I have currently exceeded the limit of appointments canceled with my current MRV fee receipt. Does anyone know how I can pay MRV fee again and update the receipt in my profile so that I will be able to reschedule again?

    Reply
  21. Hi,

    I have booked the appointment for Oct 2022 but want earlier slots, so can I can book an earlier date for OFC and VAC.

    If not can I cancel or reschedule with the same MRV fees?

    Reply
  22. Hi,

    I received the message from the screenshot (If you cancel this appointment, you will have exceeded…) in India even though I have used the MRV fee only 4 times up to now (original scheduled appointment plus 3 reschedules). So this means that once you get this message you still have one attempt remaining, right? Has anyone attempted to reschedule after getting this mesage?

    Reply

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