F-1 visa slots are disappearing within minutes in India, raising concern among students.
After months of no-shows, the United States has begun releasing visa slots for F-1 students, but those slots are disappearing within minutes, causing students to panic and worry about whether they will be able to pass before their academic session begins this fall in American schools and colleges.
As with the H-1B, there were months of inactivity for the F-1 student visa after the introduction of social media screening in December 2025. Now visa slots are issued in tranches and slots are booked within minutes.According to the latest update, a large number of slots were released on May 15 for the June and July dates, which is crucial for the fall semester but they immediately disappeared.
F-1 slot reservation checklist
- Do not check the portal frequently as this may result in an Access Limit ban for 24-72 hours
- Do not switch between Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad consultations as this results in immediate session restrictions.
- Prepare everything (DS-160, I-20, etc.) in advance so you can book quickly when an opening comes up.
What happens at an F-1 visa interview?
Career coach Pritish Jagani, in his latest social media video, explained how F-1 interviews have changed in 2026. He said he spoke to visa officials and understood that the officials conducting the interviews find out in the first five minutes of the conversation whether a student should be granted a visa or not. There are no right or wrong answers but officers are trying to get an idea of how interested the student is in the course and school they have chosen and whether they are not just trying to get into the US somehow and someone else has chosen the course and school for them.
- Expect technical questions about the course, application process and fees.
- The visa officer may ask you about the rationale behind choosing the specific school/university to understand whether you have chosen it or not.
- They may check if you know which city your university is located in, and which airport you will land at – just to see how involved you are in the process.
