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I know how frustrating this has been. For weeks, embassies were closed and nothing was moving. But from June onwards, the Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad embassies have actively started releasing F1 visa appointments. Many students I have worked with have managed to get their slot, clear the interview, and get their visa. The situation is improving — but you do need to be strategic about how you go after that slot.
Tip 1: New slots are released every single day — time your checks carefully
The first thing to understand is that slots are not a one-time release. New slots are being added every single day. The catch is that embassies are still operating at limited capacity, so the numbers are small and they get taken quickly. You need to be strategic about when and how often you check.
The CGI portal will block you for 72 hours if you check availability more than three times in a row. So do not waste your tries. Based on what students are reporting, early morning and late at night are the best times to find open slots. Build your checking schedule around those windows.
Tip 2: Join Telegram groups — this is the most useful thing you can do right now
This is honestly the single most effective strategy going around right now. There are active Telegram groups — some city-specific (Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad) and some pan-India — where students alert each other the moment a slot opens. When someone sees availability, they post it immediately. When someone checks and finds nothing, they post that too, so you do not waste one of your three attempts.
Join as many of these groups as you can. The links to several of them are in the description of my YouTube video on this topic. If you find other groups that are not listed there, please share them in the comments — it helps everyone.
I want to share a real experience here because it illustrates exactly why these groups matter.
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Book a Mock InterviewA student's experience: how he booked his Delhi slot for June 1st
One of my students originally booked his appointment back in March — biometrics on April 22nd and the visa interview on April 23rd. He completed his biometrics, but his interview was cancelled due to the lockdowns. For the rest of April and most of May, he was actively monitoring the CGI portal and multiple Telegram groups every day.
Around May 25th or 26th, he saw a message in one of the groups that a slot had opened. He acted fast and booked a Mumbai slot for June 3rd. A few days later, another alert came through — June 1st had opened in Delhi. Because Delhi was closer to home and two days earlier, he switched. That is how he secured his interview date.
He made one more smart move worth highlighting: in the first week of May, he had already booked a far-out slot — November 26th in Mumbai — as a safety net. Having any confirmed slot on the books makes you eligible for an emergency appointment if needed. So he was never without a fallback.
His advice: get your biometrics done as early as possible, because several of his friends could see slots but could not book them because their biometrics were incomplete. Then stay patient, stay active in the groups, and move fast when a slot appears.
Tip 3: The emergency appointment is a real backup — do not ignore it
If June passes and you still have not found a regular slot, do not panic. You always have the option to book an emergency appointment, and this is a legitimate, well-used fallback. The key is to have any confirmed slot already on your account — even a distant one — before you apply for emergency status.
As a rule of thumb: 60 days before your college start date, if you still do not have a regular appointment, go ahead and secure an emergency appointment. That will get you sorted.
I have a separate detailed guide on exactly how emergency appointments work and how to book one, so look that up if you need it.
Once you have your slot, prepare thoroughly
I get asked all the time whether I can book a visa slot on someone's behalf. I cannot — that is not something I do. But what I can do is prepare you really well for the interview itself.
Given how hard it has been to get a slot this cycle, once you have one you absolutely cannot afford to walk in underprepared. You need to go in and nail that interview on the first attempt.
If you want to work with me, you can book a one-to-one coaching call to clear your doubts and structure your answers, or book a mock interview session which closely mirrors the real thing and includes an in-depth debrief. If you prefer to prepare at your own pace, my F1 prep course has 11 video modules, templates, and sample answers to get you ready.
I also have a free six-point D-day checklist — six things you need to confirm are in place before you walk into that embassy. Grab it from the link in my YouTube description and tick every box before your interview day.
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