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About this tool
Carry, wear and leave-behind checklist for a US visa OFC biometrics, interview or dropbox appointment in India, with arrival timing.
This checklist covers what to carry, wear and leave behind for a US visa appointment in India, and it separates the three visits that get confused with each other: the OFC biometrics appointment, the consular interview at the Embassy in New Delhi or a Consulate General in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad or Bengaluru, and an Interview Waiver drop-off. It applies the rules that actually decide whether you get through the gate — no electronic devices and no storage facility at a US post, arrival no more than 15 minutes before your appointment, fingerprints collected only from applicants aged 14 to 79, and no eyeglasses in the visa photograph. For F, M and J applicants it also works out the earliest date you may be admitted to the United States: 30 days before the programme start date on your I-20 or DS-2019.
Open US Consulate India Appointment Day Checklist on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
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OFC, interview and dropbox each carry different documents — the list changes when you switch.
Shows the arrival window rather than a single time, because turning up early is a problem at a US post.
Phones, smart watches and remote car keys have to leave with someone outside — there is no cloakroom.
Bring the printed interview appointment confirmation, the DS-160 confirmation page with its barcode, your current passport plus every old passport, the visa fee receipt, and your category document — Form I-20 for F and M, DS-2019 for J, or the I-797 approval notice for petition-based categories. F, M and J applicants also need the SEVIS I-901 fee receipt. Carry financial evidence and proof of ties to India even if you are never asked for them.
No. US diplomatic posts prohibit phones, laptops, tablets, smart watches, fitness bands, earbuds, cameras, USB drives, power banks and even remote car key fobs — and there is no storage facility on site. Anything you bring has to leave with a person who stays outside, so plan for who is holding your phone before you join the queue.
No more than 15 minutes before the time on your appointment letter. That is a maximum, not a target: arriving earlier means waiting on the street outside the perimeter, because the queue is released by appointment slot.
No more than 30 days before the programme start date shown on your Form I-20, under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5). The visa itself can be issued much earlier — up to 365 days before the start date for F and M categories — so holding the visa is not the same as being allowed to fly.