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First up, I wanted to thank this community for providing all the necessary information/experience before I went through the visa renewal process myself. The following is my experience at the entire process (in short), hope this can help some else.
I wanted to extend my visa for a year, my visa was expiring on May 2015 and my I-20 was valid till Aug. 2016.
I qualified for the dropbox submission since I was in the same category and same institution.
Dec 29th: I took the DS-160 confirmation, passport, my latest I-20, photograph and dropbox confirmation letter. It is a pretty straight forward process, I went in and submitted the documents, the entire process took about 30 min. Even though the confirmation letter says a photocopy of the I-20 (which I carried), they did not take that.
A couple of things I wanted to highlight -
1. A note on the photograph, please see to it that your forehead, eyebrows and eyes are clearly visible. A person next to me was sent back because her hair was covering a section of her forehead.
2. The dropbox submission address is not the same as the one on the website/DS - 160. It is done at Trade Center Gr. floor G block, Mum - 51.
3. Also if you're traveling alone, please do not carry any cellphone or bag. They will not allow you to take those in!
I was lucky enough to find an autorickshaw where I could dump my bag. The other option would be to travel with someone.
Dec 31st: I got an email, saying my passport was available for pickup.
I was surprised and nervous, thinking it was a reject since it came back that quickly.
I got my visa renewed till 2019! (not that I would need it).
Also please don't forget to take a photocopy of your gov. id proof (besides the confirmation letter and the actual id), they will keep that.
Good luck on all your applications and please feel free to ask me any questions.
I wanted to extend my visa for a year, my visa was expiring on May 2015 and my I-20 was valid till Aug. 2016.
I qualified for the dropbox submission since I was in the same category and same institution.
Dec 29th: I took the DS-160 confirmation, passport, my latest I-20, photograph and dropbox confirmation letter. It is a pretty straight forward process, I went in and submitted the documents, the entire process took about 30 min. Even though the confirmation letter says a photocopy of the I-20 (which I carried), they did not take that.
A couple of things I wanted to highlight -
1. A note on the photograph, please see to it that your forehead, eyebrows and eyes are clearly visible. A person next to me was sent back because her hair was covering a section of her forehead.
2. The dropbox submission address is not the same as the one on the website/DS - 160. It is done at Trade Center Gr. floor G block, Mum - 51.
3. Also if you're traveling alone, please do not carry any cellphone or bag. They will not allow you to take those in!
I was lucky enough to find an autorickshaw where I could dump my bag. The other option would be to travel with someone.
Dec 31st: I got an email, saying my passport was available for pickup.
I was surprised and nervous, thinking it was a reject since it came back that quickly.
I got my visa renewed till 2019! (not that I would need it).
Also please don't forget to take a photocopy of your gov. id proof (besides the confirmation letter and the actual id), they will keep that.
Good luck on all your applications and please feel free to ask me any questions.
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