My son turned 14 and his previous H4 visa was issued before 14th Birthday. Based on recent dropbox guideline, it says if you have issued with any previous US visa, then that person will be eligible for dropbox. We are planning to visit India during feb 2024 and planning to take dropbox appointment for me and family. I have couple of questions and any insight into these topic is highly appreciated.
During visa stamping process, I know US Consulate don’t take fingerprint of person below 14 years and that is why in earlier dropbox eligibility criteria, there was a question if your previous visa issued before 14th Birthday. Wanted to check if this question still exist in recent dropbox eligibility criteria ?
If the answer to above question is yes, then my son has to attend Face 2 Face Interview at US consulate with Biometric appointment. But some where I read that H4 child will be issued with visa only when you carry valid visa of both parents. If I and my wife use dropbox and my son avail F2F interview, in such cases how my son will carry our visa when stamping process is happening in parallel ? Moreover we can’t wait our dropbox process to be completed and then my son carrying our passport to consulate with stamped visa and this might consume lot of time.
Can the entire family take F2F interview slots just avoid above issue (point-2) ? Given the current scenario, I am not sure if there will be enough F2F interview slot open
If your son attends the visa interview separately, then, they will issue form 221g for him and will ask him to submit your H1B visa stamp copies as and when they become available.
You should be able to take F2F interview appointment for whole family if you include any one person who is not eligible for dropbox.
I am also in the same boat. Do you need both parents’ stamps, or is the primary applicant’s visa sufficient? Additionally, is it possible to secure in-person visa slots for h4? Any idea how far in advance one can secure a slot?
Hello @anil_am22, Thank you for your reply. I am also in the same boat and me and my wife are not eligible for dropbox. So, if we book face to face appointment then our child (15 years old) can come with us? No need to book separate appointment for him?
We are exactly in the same situation with a 14 year old ineligible due the clause stating that she received the last visa before she turned 14. My spouse, me and younger kid 12 are eligible for Dropbox.
I have been writing to the help desk on the sequence of how to, schedule the interview so that we optimize our time. From what I understand after having spoken to multiple people is that it is important for the parents visa to be stamped on the passport, before you send your 14 years old in for an interview. She needs to carry the copy of the parents stamped visa for the interview.
I estimate that it will take us a minimum of 7-9 weeks to wrap up the entire sequence of events
3~4 weeks wait for parents to get their passports back after Dropbox.
Initiate drop box for 14 year old and then apply for interview appointment within 2 weeks .
2~3 weeks for the passport of the 14 year old to come back.
Hence we are talking a minimum of 7 weeks to a maximum of 9 weeks , assuming the Dropbox appointment in point 2 is secured on time.
After the interview for your kid, they will issue a form 221g to submit the parent’s visa stamp copy.
You can submit it as and when you get the visa for parents.
Thank you for that clarification. If a 221g is issued does she have to gain book an appointment to go the consulate or can the photocopy of the parents H1B stamped visa be submitted at the VAC or online ?
I’m in the same boat here…planning to go to India in August by when my kids would have turned 14. Is there any way we can get in person appointment for all of us so that we can avoid the delay in Dropbox?