On July 29th, 2023, the US Embassy updated that they are changing the appointment booking system from www.portal.ustraveldocs.com to www.usvisascheduling.com. This is a big change as the old system will not work anymore.

The State Department has provided guidance on navigating the new system.  We hope you find this useful.

For registering on the website:  User details – Self Asserted (b2clogin.com)

Can I use the same login credentials from U.S. Traveldocs on the new U.S. Visa Scheduling system?

No, a new account and profile will need to be registered on the new platform, also the login credentials used for U.S. Traveldocs will not be valid on U.S. Visa Scheduling. If you have created a profile and paid the visa fee on the old system, but have not yet scheduled the appointment, you will need to create a new account on U.S. Visa Scheduling to proceed with appointment scheduling.

Do I need to repay the visa fee when I create a new profile on U.S. Visa Scheduling?

No, if you paid the MRV fee already in the old system (prior to July 15, 2023 for consulates in India), you can enter the payment receipt number into the new system when creating your profile in order to associate the payment with your new account.

What if I am unable to see my previously scheduled appointment or MRV fee payment in the new profile?

DOS has been working on migrating all scheduled appointments and paid fees from U.S. Traveldocs to the new system, but is aware of reports that this is not always happening. If you scheduled an appointment or paid fees in the U.S. Traveldocs system, and do not see them in your new U.S. Visa Scheduling profile, you should contact the consulate’s support e-mail ID (for India, this is support-india@usvisascheduling.com) and request the migration of your appointment details to the new system. If this is not successful, then applicants can try the Navigator function on the embassy’s website.

The State Department has advised that applicants should not repay the visa fee if they have already done so in the old system, as the 2^nd fee will not be refunded. Instead, they should request use of the support e-mail or Navigator function as described above.

What type of payment can be used for MRV fees on the U.S. Visa Scheduling system?

For consulates in India, the new system accepts only Indian credit or debit cards for MRV fee payment, unlike the U.S. Traveldocs system. Payments in the new system must be made with an Indian card, although prior payments made with previously-accepted forms of payment may still be migrated to the new system, as described above.

What is the Petition Request Number? Is it different from the Receipt Number?

No, it is the same. The Indian booking system has separate fields for “Petition Request Number” and “Petition Receipt Number;” however, they are both referring to the receipt number, and the “Request Number” field appears to have been added in error. The State Department is working on removing the extra field, but until it has done so, applicants can enter the same receipt number in both fields.

What do I list as the time for the petition start and end dates?

The addition of hour and minute fields to the petition start and end dates also appears to be a programming error, and will be removed. In the meantime, applicants can enter 12:01am for the start date time, and 11:59pm for the end date time.

Will I still receive a notification when my passport is ready for pickup?

Yes, similar to the previous system, applicants should receive an e-mail and text notification from the application support center when their passport with the issued visa is ready to be collected. For applicants at consulates in India, passports may also be tracked online here.

As sweeping immigration reform is highly unlikely, there are certain targeted reforms that are both urgently needed and potentially achievable; such as:

== To protect DREAMers, we propose a new, indefinite “conditional residence status” to DREAMers with protection from deportation, work authorization, and the right to travel abroad

== State-based Immigration Programs: This proposal would authorize state governors to ask DOL and/or DHS to approve additional worker petitions to authorize the hiring of immigrants by employers in their respective states

== Border Management and Asylum Reform

== Improve access to refugee resettlement to the United States and other countries in the Western Hemisphere for those who qualify

== Expand other avenues to legal migration

== Reform asylum for border arrivals

== Explore demands for both asylum and border reforms that would partially be ameliorated by new immigrant worker programs

== Build on Current Proposals for Essential Workers

== Help the healthcare services industry to recruit foreign national workers from countries in the Western Hemisphere for those who qualify

For more on these proposals see here