What you should anticipate on the day of your interview

Please come to the Embassy or Consulate General no earlier than 15 minutes prior to your appointment time.  Applicants will be allowed into the consular section according to their appointment time.

For information on the location of the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulate General, parking and security requirements, please visit http://www.usvisa-info.com.

If your visa is approved, it will be delivered to the Empost location you selected at the time you set up your visa interview appointment.  (If you did not use our service provider to schedule your appointment, you will receive directions for picking up an approved visa at the time of interview).

When you enter the Consular Section, you will be given a number and will visit different windows for initial examination of your application documents, fingerprinting and interview.You will likely be asked to have a seat between some steps of the process. Different applications require different amounts of processing time, so numbers are not called in numerical order. Once your number is called for your interview, a Consular Officer will speak with you about your intended travel and review any additional documents that the officer requests. An average interview will last for approximately 2-4 minutes.

At the end of your interview, the Consular Officer will tell you that your application is:

• Approved
• Pending, contingent on you providing additional information;
• Pending, contingent on administrative processing; or
• Refused.

We advise that you do not make any non-refundable travel arrangements until the visa has been issued in your passport.

 Approved

Congratulations! Your application has been approved.; We hope that you have a wonderful trip to the United States. Please note that a visa only allows for travel to the United States; an officer from the Department of Homeland Security at the port of entry will determine your final eligibility to enter the United States and the authorized length of stay.

If your visa is approved, it will be available for pick up at the Empost courier location you selected at the time of making your appointment.

We are not able to provide information about document delivery. Please contact Empost directly to determine the status of an Empost passport delivery.

 Pending, contingent on you providing additional information

If the Consular Officer requests additional documents at the time of your interview you will be informed in writing. Your file will be suspended until we receive the requested information. If you applied prior to January 6, 2013, you may leave additional documents at the consular section at 2:00 any workday afternoon, provided that they are labeled with your name and case number.  You will be contacted by consular staff to follow up after we have reviewed your submitted documents. If you applied after January 6, 2013, please follow directions for the return of documents to the Embassy or Consulate General on our service provider’s website at http://usvisa-info.com.

 Pending, contingent on administrative processing

Your application may require administrative processing prior to final adjudication by a Consular Officer. The Officer will inform you in writing that your application is pending, and will return your passport to you along with your case number. The processing time averages between two to four months and- cannot be expedited. We appreciate your patience during this process.

During this time period, you should check the Visa Status section of our website by entering your case number into our system. Once your visa is ready for final processing, you will need to submit your passport.   For a small number of cases, additional information is required. When you enter your case number in the visa status section, you will be informed of any additional information that may be required to process your application. Please follow the instructions provided by our system.  If you applied prior to January 6, 2013, you may leave your passport marked with your case number at the consular section at 2:00 any workday afternoon. If you applied after January 6, 2013, please follow directions for the return of documents to the Embassy or Consulate General on our service provider’s website at http://usvisa-info.com.

 Refused

The United States is an open society. Unlike many other countries, the United States does not impose internal controls on most visitors, such as registration with local authorities. In order to enjoy the privilege of unencumbered travel in the United States, aliens have a responsibility to prove they are going to return abroad before a visa for a temporary visit is issued. Our immigration law requires consular officers to view every visa applicant as an intending immigrant until the applicant proves otherwise. If you are not able to satisfy the consular officer of your intention to leave the United States after your intended visit, you may apply again in the future and have your qualification reconsidered.