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How on earth do you get a US visa interview appointment?

1 week ago

Recently I've been helping my mother-in-law book a Shanghai visa interview for a B visa. Got it done—paid for the DS-160—but when it came to the interview appointment step, I just could not get a slot to show up no matter how hard I tried. I even went and vibe-coded a little program to check availability, though I still had to click through the CAPTCHA myself every time. Even so, after two or three weeks of checking, I still couldn't get one. Every time I open Xiaohongshu it's all scalpers, asking for three or four hundred RMB to book it for you. Is it just the case in China now that you need a scalper for everything? I'm asking: without paying a scalper, how do you actually manage to get a slot?

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Comments (4)

adwazaidema31 week ago

If you can't find any slots, it doesn't mean the system is broken. It's simply that B visa slots at the Shanghai consulate are scarce to begin with, and release times are irregular. The biggest risk of using a scalper is that your account and DS-160 information get taken, and if something goes wrong, you have no way to pursue it yourself.

bennn1 week ago

I just want to confirm a few things: when you were refreshing, did you try switching to different browsers or clearing your cache? Also, is your mother-in-law applying for a renewal, and has she ever been refused a visa before? And is your mini program only checking one consular district? These details can all affect how many appointment slots you're able to see.

无生1 week ago

Have you ever tried the time slots around seven or eight in the morning and around midnight?

小松千代1 week ago

Guangzhou and Shenyang can sometimes be easier to book than Shanghai, but if your mother-in-law is in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai area, you also have to factor in the travel time and cost of getting there, which may not be worth it compared with just waiting for an appointment.