There is so much in this article that will enlighten you on how to book an appointment for a USA visa. But I know you are more interested in booking earlier/expedited appointment. So, I am not going to waste your time as the first two paragraphs already addressed this. For more details on how to book an appointment for a visa interview with the USA, try to read the entire article. To ensure you understand the steps detailed below on how to book an expedited/earlier appointment dates, make sure you already understood how to book a regular appointment, if you don’t, please jump to “How do I Schedule an Appointment for US Visa Interview in Nigeria” below and later come back to this section to read how to book earlier appointment.
I know you are here because you have tried to book an appointment for a USA visa, but the available date is not favorable for your planned trip. Now, you need a way to book an earlier date. I understand this might be as a result of different factors such as poor planning or late decision to apply. Whatever your reasons are, I am not here to play blame game but to find a solution for you and make your plan work as you wanted.
There are two ways to get an earlier date for a USA visa, first is by contacting the embassy and the second is more of a smart trick if the first solution did not work.
Booking an earlier date by contact the embassy: Expedited appointment booking
The embassy already give room for early appointment booking/expedited booking by contacting the customer care of the USA embassy, but before you jump out of this article and start sending an email to the embassy for an earlier, you should know that you need to qualify. Yes, not everyone is allowed to request for an expedited appointment. You must make sure your purpose of visit to the united states is one for the followings:
Expedited appointment booking for Urgent Medical needs:
If your purpose of travel is to receive an urgent medical need or follow a relative or employer to the USA for medical treatment, then you can request an expedited appointment date. To do so, login to your ustraveldocs account and click on provide feedback as shown below:
Then write a detailed message about why you need an earlier appointment for your medical needs. The image below shows the guideline.
You will need to attach the following documents:
- A written/typed letter from your doctor in Nigeria explaining why your medical treatment needs to be done in the united states.
- A letter from a qualified doctor in the united states, confirming that they are willing to receive you and providing estimated costs of treatment.
- Evidence of how you will pay for the treatment.
Expedited appointment booking for Funeral/Death needs:
If the purpose of trip is to attend a funeral or to repatriate the body of a dead relative. Only an immediate family member such as a mother, father, brother, sister, child, grandparent, or grandchild are considered an immediate family member.
To request for an expedited or early appointment in this case, login into your ustraveldocs account, click on “provide feedback” and write a letter appealing for an expedited date. The following documents should be attached as evidence of purpose of the trip:
- A letter from the funeral director stating the contact information, the details of the deceased and the date of the funeral.
- You must also present evidence that the deceased is an immediate relative.
Expedited appointment booking for an urgent business trip:
If you have an urgent business meeting to attend in the USA, congratulations, you also qualify for an early appointment. To request for an expedited or early appointment in this case, login into your ustraveldocs account, click on “provide feedback” and write a letter appealing for an expedited date. Also, attach the following document(s):
- A Letter from the USA company with which business is to be conducted. The letter must be addressed to the USA embassy and certain details must be stated, such as the urgency of the business and what would happen to the Nigerian partner company should the embassy refused to approve an expedited appointment.
- If it is training, you must include a letter must the training organizer, stating why you need to attend the training.
Expedited appointment booking for student visa applicants and exchange visitors:
This set of people are the most that I have encountered in my years of being a travel consultant. It is really common for students to receive their admission letter and i-20 close to resumption date and that always means that they would need an expedited appointment to be able to meet up with the academic start date. To request for an expedited or early appointment, in this case, login into your ustraveldocs account, click on “provide feedback” and write a letter appealing for an expedited date. Also, attach the following document:
- Original Form I-20 or DS-2019 indicating the start date of the program within 60 days.
Expedited appointment booking for individuals that do not belong to the list above:
If you are not going for the purpose of receiving medical treatment, study, urgent business, or funeral/death, it might feel like your pursuit of an earlier date is a futile one but don’t lose hope yet, there is one more trick you can pull.
Do you know that people cancel an appointment from time to time due to one reason or the other best known to them? Yes!!!
Anytime someone cancels an appointment, it creates an opening for someone else to take. So, it becomes the case of fastest finger to pick up the new date that shows up on the calendar. This trick is tedious but worth the effort.
I have used similar tricks to book an appointment for many people. You just have to continue checking the available date from time to time, depending on your frequency of checking, you could get an earlier date within a week or so.
This brings us to the end of this section. Continue reading below for more information on how to book a regular visa interview appointment. Also, there is a good question and answers section covering all the question you may have about booking of appointment with the USA embassy.
Enjoy!!!
Unlike traveling from one region of a country to another which does not require a visa, most people need a US visa to get into the United States. However, before one can get a United States Visa, such person will have to take part in a United States visa interview. While an interview is needed for one to get a United State visa, it is not possible to walk into the United States embassy or consulate and have an interview. For a visa interview to take place, a visa applicant has to have a United States visa appointment.
When an applicant applies for a United States visa, the application is processed in the shortest time possible. This is because the US embassy and consulate strive to ensure that applicants do not have to wait for so long before they get a visa appointment. While the United States embassies and consulates around the world always want to make things happen as quickly as possible, if you want a US visa appointment on a date that is convenient, you will have to book a US visa appointment early.
There are various types of US visas and the type of US visa you are applying for will go a long way in determining how early you should book a visa. If you are applying for a nonimmigrant US visa, it is vital that you apply for a visa appointment as early as three months before you intend traveling.
How Far in Advance can you Book US Visa Appointment?
If you want to be free from any hitches that are associated with not booking your visa appointment early enough, the earliest you can book a United States visa appointment is 3 months before you want to travel. This is very important because before visa applications are approved, they go through a high degree of scrutiny. This, therefore, makes the process longer than it used to be.
How do I Schedule an Appointment for US Visa Interview in Nigeria?
If you are looking to schedule an appointment for a US visa interview in Nigeria, there are certain details you need to have access to. Also, you should be in possession of some documents. Some of the documents you should be in possession of are;
- A passport that has a validity date which is not less than six months over the period you intend to spend in the United States.
- You should also have a receipt from your visa application fee. Payment has to be made at GT Bank
- You should tender your DS-160 confirmation page.
- A telephone number and a working email address.
Before going on to schedule an appointment, it is important that you have made up your mind about your movements as there are limitations to the number of times you can reschedule an appointment
What if I Miss My US Visa Appointment?
A lot of people are usually worried about the aftermath of missing their US visa appointment. Due to this, there are lots of questions about the aftermath of a missed US visa appointment. Well, if you miss your US visa appointment, you do not need to be scared as there is always a solution to this challenge. If you miss your US visa appointment, you can reschedule for another date. While it is possible to reschedule an interview, the only challenge is the rescheduling of an interview cannot be done more than two times.
If you fail to make it to your US visa appointment just once, you will not have to pay any fee for rescheduling. However, if you fail to make it to your visa appointment two times, you need to pay another visa application fee for a rescheduling to take place. When some people miss a visa appointment, they sometimes threaten to sue the US embassy for asking them to pay a fresh fee. While it might seem like they have a point, it is not the fault of the US embassy when someone schedules a visa appointment and misses it.
Now that you know that you can reschedule a US visa appointment after missing it, it is important that you know exactly what happens when you miss a US visa appointment.
When you fail to show up for a US visa appointment, the system marks your appointment as missed. If the embassy is not so busy, they might put a call across to you on their own accord and help you reschedule. However, if you do not get a call, you will have to reschedule.
How do I Print my US Visa Appointment Confirmation?
It is important that you print your US visa appointment confirmation. So, to do so, simply follow the steps below;
- Go to https://evisaforms.state.gov/default.asp?postcode=HAN&appcode=3
- Select “Schedule Appointment”
- Fill in your DS 160 Barcode number. After doing this, click on the submit button
- Elect an available appointment slot
- You will come across “appointment details”. Once you see this, fill in your passport number, given name, surname, telephone number, and email address.
- Select “Submit”
A message which confirms that you have an appointment for your visa interview will be displayed. You will have to print this page as it is your appointment confirmation for visa interview.
How do I Book an Appointment for US Visa?
When looking to get a US visa, the first thing you need to do is complete your DS-160. After you are done with this, the next thing to do is to book a US visa appointment. To do this, you will need to pay a visa fee. After paying a visa fee, you have to choose a location, as well as a date for your visa interview.
For various countries, there is a variance in the available dates for United States visa appointment. This variance also includes locations. So, to be aware of the available wait times associated with visa appointments, you will need to look through the Bureau of Consular Affairs website.
There are no restrictions to where you can schedule a United States visa appointment. This can be done from any part of the world. If you are out of your country of residence, you can also schedule a United States visa interview appointment in a different country.
There are no rules which state that your appointment has to be scheduled in same environment with your DS-160. While it is normal for your DS-160 and your visa interview to share location, you can decide to have your via interview in another location.
To schedule an appointment for US visa, simply follow the steps below
Create a profile, signup, and get your account activated
To create a profile, you will have to schedule a US visa interview. To get this done, simply visit the Visa Information and Appointment System for the Embassy of the United States website. Choose the country where you want your US visa appointment to take place. Once done, select “Apply” to create a profile.
At this point, you will need to make a choice from various options which will pop-up on the screen
Some of the alternatives you should select a choice from are;
- I have completed U.S Nonimmigrant Visa application (DS-160) form and I need to apply for a visa
- I am a diplomat, other government official, Fullbright Scholar, or participant in another U.S Government sponsored program.
- I have completed U.S Nonimmigrant Visa application (DS-160) form and I need to apply for a visa.
- I am a Company, Travel Agent, or Other Organization that needs to schedule appointments for a group of people.
- I need to apply for a K (Fiancé(e/Spouse/Child) visa.
- None of the above applies to me
After choosing the most suitable alternative, select “Continue” to move on to the next phase.
On the next step, you will need to fill in some details. These details are;
- The name contained on your passport
- Your Surname
- Your Email
- Confirm your email
- Enter your password
- Confirm your password
- Type in text alerts
After doing this, go on to create an account. After the creation of your account, the next thing you should do is activate your account.
You will get a mail from the US visa info website. You will need to click the activation link which comes with the email to activate your account. After activating your account, select ‘Continue’. This will move you to the “New Applicant Screen”.
Applicant Information
On this screen, there are certain details you should fill. These details include;
- The name on your passport
- The surname on your passport
- The country of your passport
- Your country of birth
- Your Passport number
- Your DS-160 number
- Your Visa Class (A list of Visa Classes will appear. All you have to do is select the most appropriate)
- Date of birth
- Gender
- Primary phone number
- Text alerts
- Email address
- You will have to answer “yes” or “no” to the question “were you previously issued a visa to enter the United States?”, “Is the applicant traveling from another country to apply for a visa”
At this point, you will need to click on “Create Application”. Once this is done, you will be moved to “Confirm Applicant and Visa Information” section.
Confirm Applicant and Visa Information
In this section, you will need to answer yes or no to the question “Does this visa type match your travel?” This will lead to a point where you should select the conditions which apply to you and click “Confirm”. This will lead you to the Dependents section
Dependents
On this section, you will come across the question “Do you want to add another applicant?” Answer yes or no. If you answered yes to this question, you should go ahead and fill certain details. These details include
- The name on your passport
- Your Surname
- The country of your passport
- Your Country of birth
- Your passport number
- Your DS-160 number
- Your visa class
- Your date of birth
- Gender
- Your primary phone number
- Text alerts
- Email address
- Answer yes of no to the question “were you previously issued a visa to enter the United States
- Will you be applying for a visa in a country other than the one you live in? Answer yes or no to this question.
Once you are done filling these details, you should click on create applicant. This way, you can add the dependent. If you are looking to add more dependents, this is a step you will have to go through all over again.
Courier Details
Select a location that will be most convenient for you to get your passport. After doing this, click on continue
Payment
At this point, you will come across various payment options. All you need to do is select the most appropriate payment option for you.
Schedule
Select the most convenient time and date for photo and fingerprint appointment.
How Long Does US Visa Interview Take
All things being equal US visa interview should last about two to three hours.
How Can I Pass my US Visa Interview?
Passing your US visa interview might not seem very easy. There are, however, tips that can make it a reality. Some of these tips are;
Practice your English: Your ability to communicate effectively in English will come in handy in helping you do well in your US visa interview. This implies that you should take out time to practice your English frequently. Some of the ways to do this easily are by reading books, watching American television shows, and listening to English songs.
Put All Your Documents Together: You need a lot of evidence to prove that you are qualified to get a visa. Some of these documents are your visa application and evidence that you have enough funds to support yourself
What to do when the interview is on: While the interview is on, give the officer uninterrupted attention. Listen to all they have to say and give every question good thoughts before answering. Furthermore, your answers should be short and should never go off-point
Get an explanation ready: There are certain questions that are usually asked when people go for interviews. You should carry out a research to find out what these questions are and prepare the right answer for them
Speak of your connection with your country of origin: To ensure that there are things in your country that will make you want to return, officers that conduct interviews at embassies always ask about your connections to your country of origin. Some of these connections might be a property, a job, a blooming business, family, etc.
What Questions are asked in US Visa Interview?
Some of the questions you will be asked in a US visa interview are;
- What are your reasons for visiting the United States?
- Have you visited the US before?
- Do you have family in the United States? If yes. Who?
- Who is responsible for sponsoring your visit?
- When you arrive in the US, where will you stay?
- Have you booked your tickets?
- What is your budget for this trip?
- Do you have return tickets?
When going for a US visa interview go along with all documents which have any form of relevance to your interview session.
What Should I Wear to My US Visa Interview
When going for your US visa interview, there really is no dress code. So, all you have to do is put on clean and well ironed clothes. For men, a good suit will be appropriate. However, women do not need to put on a suit. A smart dress will do just fine.
While there is no exact way to dress, there are ways you should not dress. Some of them are;
- You should not put on sports shoes or sneakers,
- Do not wear printed shirts or shorts with bright colors.
- Don’t go with accessories like sunglasses
- Females should not wear miniskirts or heavy makeup
- Females should not go with big purses
Can I Get US Visa without Interview
There are certain people that can get a US visa without an interview. Some of these people are; government officials on assignment in the US, representatives of international organizations, and military personnel on official business.
How Can I Prepare for US Embassy Interview?
To prepare for a US visa interview, get all your documents which serve as proof of your eligibility into place and arrange them according to their order of relevance.
How do I Know if My Visa is approved
To know if your visa is approved, three business days after your interview, visit https://ceac.state.gov/CEACSttTracker/Status.aspx(https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/) to find out your status.
How Much Bank Balance is required for US Visa
This is dependent on the visa type as there is no amount that is required for all visa types. The bank balance you need for a visa type is an amount that can cover all your expenses in the United States.
How Do You Increase Your Chances of Getting a US Visa?
You can increase your chances of getting a US visa by doing your research appropriately before going for an interview. You can never be sure of the questions you will be asked. You can, however, know the most likely questions. So, in your best interest, you should prepare an answer for the most likely questions.
Why a US Visa would be rejected?
There are certain reasons why an applicant will be denied visa. Some of these reasons are if the applicant lacks the documents that are needed to ascertain if the applicant is eligible for a certain visa. Also if an applicant does not qualify for the visa category they applied for, they will be rejected.
