US Visa Slot Alert Team · Updated 18 June 2026
Where US visa appointments are scheduled
All non-immigrant US visa interviews in India are booked through the official U.S. visa appointment system (the Department of State's appointment service for India). You log in with your profile, pay the visa fee (MRV), and the system shows the first available interview date for your category and consulate. There is no separate 'slot website' — availability is whatever the official portal shows at that moment. Any service that claims to show slots is reading from, or monitoring, that same official system.
Step by step: how to check for a slot
First, complete and submit your DS-160 and note the confirmation number. Second, create or log in to your profile on the official appointment system and select your visa category and the consulate for your consular district. Third, pay the MRV visa fee — you cannot see or book appointment dates until the fee is registered, which can take a day or two after payment. Fourth, open the schedule-appointment page: the system displays the earliest available date. Fifth, if that date is too far out, book it anyway as a fallback, then keep checking for earlier openings and reschedule when one appears.
First-available dates vs cancellation slots
There are two kinds of availability. The 'first available' date is the front of the regular queue — often weeks or months out at busy posts. Cancellation slots are individual dates that reopen when other applicants reschedule or cancel; these can be far earlier than the first-available date but vanish within minutes. Most applicants only ever see the first-available date because they don't check at the exact moment a cancellation appears.
Why US visa slots disappear within minutes
The portal releases appointments in batches and adds individual openings whenever other applicants cancel or reschedule. Because demand vastly exceeds supply — especially for B1/B2, F1 and H1B — these openings are claimed almost instantly, often in the middle of the night. By the time most applicants log in and refresh, the slot is already gone.
Which consulate should you check?
Your interview is generally held at the post for your consular district (based on your state of residence): New Delhi for the north, Mumbai for the west, Chennai and Hyderabad for the south, and Kolkata for the east and north-east. Check the post assigned to you first, since booking outside your district can complicate your application. If you have flexibility, comparing availability across posts can occasionally surface an earlier date.
How to catch an earlier slot
Book the earliest slot you can get as a fallback, then watch for earlier openings. Manual refreshing rarely works because slots appear at random hours, including overnight. An automated monitor that checks the official system as often as every two minutes and emails you the moment a matching date opens is the practical solution — that is exactly what US Visa Slot Alert does. You still book on the official portal yourself; the alert simply gets you there in time.
What you need ready before you book
Keep your DS-160 confirmation number, passport details, and visa-fee (MRV) receipt ready so you can log in and confirm a new date within minutes of an alert. Stay signed in where possible. Speed matters: the applicants who get earlier interviews are the ones prepared to rebook immediately rather than scrambling for documents.
Common mistakes to avoid
Don't wait for the visa fee to clear before starting — pay it early so you can see dates. Don't check only once a day; cancellation slots appear at unpredictable times. Don't try to book at a consulate outside your district without a reason. And don't share your appointment-system login with untrusted third parties — a legitimate alert service never needs your credentials and only monitors public availability.
Written by the US Visa Slot Alert team, who build and operate automated monitoring of the official U.S. visa appointment system for India and track consulate slot patterns daily.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there an official website to check US visa slots in India?
- Yes — appointments are scheduled only through the official U.S. visa appointment system for India. Availability shown there is the single source of truth. Third-party alert services like US Visa Slot Alert monitor that system and notify you, but you always book on the official portal.
- How often do US visa slots open in India?
- Openings appear continuously as applicants cancel or reschedule, plus periodic larger releases of new inventory. The timing is unpredictable, which is why automated round-the-clock monitoring catches far more slots than manual checking.
- Can I book at a different consulate than my assigned one?
- The system assigns you a consulate based on your consular district (state of residence). You can sometimes select another post, but booking outside your district can complicate your case, so check your assigned consulate first.
- What if no appointment dates are available at all?
- If the portal shows no dates, it means inventory is fully booked for now. New dates and cancellations are added regularly, so keep monitoring. Setting up an automated alert means you're notified the instant a date is released rather than checking repeatedly.
- Do US visa slots open at a particular time of day?
- There is no single fixed release time. New inventory and cancellations can appear at any hour, including late at night, which is why continuous automated monitoring is far more reliable than checking at fixed times.
More guides & consulate pages
Never miss a US visa slot again
We check the official scheduling system as fast as every 2 minutes and email you the moment a matching appointment opens — across all 5 consulates in India.