Overall Instructions for Appointment
Visa Type
Select whether you are applying for a Nonimmigrant Visa or an Immigrant Visa.
Immigrant Visa is to permanently stay in the U.S.
Nonimmigrant Visa is to temporarily stay in the U.S., such as a tourist, student, for business, for work, and several others.
For K visa, select “Immigrant Visa”.State of Residence
The list shows all the states and union territories of India as well as Bhutan.
You must choose the last state where you lived for at least 6 months, unless you are an Indian citizen residing in the U.S. on H or L visa and going to India for visa stamping. If you permanently moved to another place within the last six months (not a temporary transfer), you can use that place for taking an appointment.
Applicants of Bhutan Nationality must schedule an appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Delhi by selecting Bhutan in “State of Residence”.
Residents of India can apply for non-immigrant visa at any of the U.S. consulates in India. However, you are strongly encouraged to apply within your consular district. The consular officers work only in one region. They are more familiar with the circumstances of applicants from that region. Also, officers are trained in regional languages and can offer translation assistance that would be unavailable at other posts. If you choose to apply somewhere other than where you live, please be prepared to explain your reasons during the interview. Moreover, if you are looking for a non-English appointment, all languages are not available everywhere. E.g., you won’t get a Gujarati appointment in Chennai or a Tamil appointment in Kolkata.
Blanket L1 applications would be scheduled at the U.S. Consulate in Chennai. L2 alone and individual L1 (L1A, L1B) can still be processed normally at any consulate.
An Indian citizen resident in the U.S.
This option is applicable only for applicants applying for H or L visa.Select Language for Interview:
The languages listed here vary upon the consulate chosen. You need to choose the correct language for the interview. Choose English if you are comfortable with having your interview in English. Do not choose English because a regional language appointment is not available with the hope that some translator will be available at the time of the interview. If you choose English, your interview will be in English only.
If a couple is applying for an interview, and if one of the persons is comfortable with English but the other spouse is not, it is fine to schedule an interview in English since the English literature spouse can translate for the other one who does not know English.
If you are comfortable talking in English, don’t worry about the American accent, and schedule an interview in English. Sometimes, the interpreters mess up in translating.
The languages to choose from, depending upon the consulate being interviewed at:
Hyderabad: English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Urdu
Chennai: English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and Urdu
Kolkata: English, Bengali, Oriya, and Hindi
Mumbai: English, Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati
New Delhi: English, Punjabi, and Hindi
