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I am a CS PhD student on an F1 visa that was going to expire in June 2021. I qualified for dropbox renewal since I was renewing visa in same category and same institution. At the time of writing, most visas are not being processed due to the ongoing pandemic, but I was lucky that F visas were getting processed with priority.
I went to submit documents through dropbox at Jasmine Tower in Kolkata on 11 December 2020. They took my original passports (old -- that holds the previous F1 visa, and new), I-20 photocopy, 1 photo, 1 copy of DS-160 receipt and 1 copy of appointment confirmation letter. I chose the courier option for passport delivery.
I arrived 1 hour before the appointment scheduled through the portal. The process took 15-20 mins. The staff were meticulous with following COVID protocols.
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
Passport tracking on http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/
11-13 Dec - Your passport is being sent to post (Passport) No Status (Visa)
14 Dec Morn. - Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate (Passport) Application Received (Visa)
14 Dec Aftern. - Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate (Passport) Administrative Processing (Visa)
16 Dec Aftern. - Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate (Passport) Issued (Visa)
17 Dec Morn. - Passport has been received from the consular section, and is currently being processed for delivery (Passport) Issued (Visa)
19 Dec Aftern. - Delivery from BlueDart
As many others have mentioned, "Administrative Processing" is a necessary step at the US consulate and there is no reason to panic over it. Hope this helps and good luck!
I went to submit documents through dropbox at Jasmine Tower in Kolkata on 11 December 2020. They took my original passports (old -- that holds the previous F1 visa, and new), I-20 photocopy, 1 photo, 1 copy of DS-160 receipt and 1 copy of appointment confirmation letter. I chose the courier option for passport delivery.
I arrived 1 hour before the appointment scheduled through the portal. The process took 15-20 mins. The staff were meticulous with following COVID protocols.
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
Passport tracking on http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/
11-13 Dec - Your passport is being sent to post (Passport) No Status (Visa)
14 Dec Morn. - Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate (Passport) Application Received (Visa)
14 Dec Aftern. - Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate (Passport) Administrative Processing (Visa)
16 Dec Aftern. - Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate (Passport) Issued (Visa)
17 Dec Morn. - Passport has been received from the consular section, and is currently being processed for delivery (Passport) Issued (Visa)
19 Dec Aftern. - Delivery from BlueDart
As many others have mentioned, "Administrative Processing" is a necessary step at the US consulate and there is no reason to panic over it. Hope this helps and good luck!
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