My experience applying for F1 visa renewal via dropbox in Pune, Feb 2015

[panda17]

I am a PhD student in a Chemistry/Chemical Engineering related field since Fall 2010. My F1 visa was going to expire in June 2015 and my I20 is valid till Aug 2015.

So I thought it is a good time to extend/renew my F1 visa.

I qualified for dropbox since I was renewing visa in same category and same institution.

I went to submit documents through dropbox at the Stanley Center in Pune on 23 Feb 2015. When you select the dropbox option, they ask you for you original passport, valid I20, 1 photo, 1 copy of DS160 receipt and 1 copy of dropbox confirmation letter.

There is no need to take any appointment to submit documents through dropbox and it only took me 15-20 minutes.

There are two different links to track status of visa and passport. Following are the status messages I saw on both websites.

Visa tracking on the CEAC website https://ceac.state.gov/ceacstattracker/status.aspx
23 Feb: invalid/case has not been created
24 Feb: case is ready
24 Feb: Administrative Processing (This does not mean 221g. Even approved visas have to go through administrative processing)
25 Feb: Issued and undergoing final processing

Passport tracking on http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/
23 Feb: passport being sent to post (consulate in mumbai)
24 Feb: passport is still with post
25 Feb: Passport has been received from the consular section, and is currently being processed for delivery
26 Feb: Your passport is ready for pickup - I collected my passport at the Pune Stanley Center again and I saw that it had a new 5 years visa stamped on it !!!

So it took me just 3 days after I submitted my documents to get back my passport with a new visa stamped on it !

I assume it would have been even sooner if I had submitted my documents at the Mumbai Stanley Center since that would have saved them the time it took to send my passport from Pune to Mumbai and back.

Hope this helps and good luck to you all !

[fountainshead]

F1 renewal via dropbox

I am in a similar situation as you were. I plan to renew my F1 visa in May, 2015. I qualify for a dropbox renewal. Apart from the documents that you listed, do I need to submit anything else? Should I keep any other documents with me just in case?
Thank You!

[as86]

Applying for F1 visa through dropbox

I am in a similar situation as you were. I plan to renew my F1 visa in May, 2015. I qualify for a dropbox renewal. Apart from the documents that you listed, do I need to submit anything else? Should I keep any other documents with me just in case?
Thank You!

Hi fountainshead,

Just wondering whether you went through and process and how it went. I will be submitting documents when I visit India in July. But, I submit the application online on ustraveldocs and it said I qualify for waiver even though I am going to a new school for a new program (not the same as the ones for which I got my previous F1 visa). I called the customer service and they said I do qualify regardless of the change in school and program. Can you tell me what your experience was like? Any info would be very helpful.

Thanks.

[rajendar]

H4 Visa Dropbox experience.

My wife carried all the support document, but VFS took only below document

1.DS 160 confirmation
2.Dropbox confirmation
3.i-797 copy(H4)
4.Visa copy(Principle applicant i.e H1)
5.Passport(H4)
6; 2 Photos

07/17 Documents submitted
Status
07/20:Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate
07/21:Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate

[username101]

Hi fountainshead,

Just wondering whether you went through and process and how it went. I will be submitting documents when I visit India in July. But, I submit the application online on ustraveldocs and it said I qualify for waiver even though I am going to a new school for a new program (not the same as the ones for which I got my previous F1 visa). I called the customer service and they said I do qualify regardless of the change in school and program. Can you tell me what your experience was like? Any info would be very helpful.

Thanks.

Hi AS86,

I am in same situation as yours. I need an F1 extension and I am going to a new school and for a new program and the ustraveldocs says I am eligible for Dropbox but regional consulate website says drop box is only eligible for people who are going to same school and same program. Spoke to customer service and they said I am eligible for drop box. Not sure what to do. Please let me know what you have done in your case.

Thanks.