In India, US visa appointments are booked in two steps: first the OFC (also called VAC, for fingerprints and photo), then the consular interview. Many applicants finally manage to book an OFC slot, get sent to the interview page, and see:
No Slots Available
A little later they refresh, and the OFC booking is gone too: Home shows the OFC booking option again, or the interview page shows SGA10.
Key Point: You didn't do anything wrong. The OFC slot you booked is only held temporarily. If you don't book an interview within that window, the OFC slot is released automatically. In recent months this has been extremely common among B1/B2 and H1B applicants, and it comes up again and again on Reddit and in Telegram groups.
How Does the Two-Step OFC and Consular Booking Work?
- On the OFC page, choose a city, date and time. After you submit, the OFC slot is put on a temporary hold.
- The page automatically moves to the interview (Consular) page, where you choose a consulate city, date and time.
- Only when the interview is also booked do both appointments take effect, and you get a confirmation.
- If you don't book an interview within the hold window, the OFC booking is cancelled automatically, the slot goes back into the pool, and you start over.
There's no official figure for how long the hold lasts. Older posts mention 30 or 60 minutes; in 2026 most people say about 45 minutes, and one troubleshooting guide says about an hour. Whatever the real number is, don't count on extra time — start looking for an interview slot as soon as your OFC is booked.
How Do You Know Your OFC Is Booked and You're on the Interview Page?
The OFC page and the interview page look almost identical, and many people book an OFC slot without realizing it worked. The difference is the dropdown above the calendar:
- OFC Post (city names followed by VAC): you're still booking the OFC;
- Consular Posts: your OFC is booked, and you're now booking the interview.
Why Are Consular Slots So Much Harder to Get Than OFC Slots?
Based on reports on Reddit and in Indian Telegram groups from 2024 to 2026:
- B1/B2 and H1B (including J1): OFC slots are often available; interview slots are the bottleneck. One applicant booked the same OFC slot three times in one day and found no interview slots at any consulate each time. An H1B applicant checked for months, booked OFC slots several times, and never got an interview.
- F1: It's the other way round. F1 groups often say they mostly see interview slots, while OFC slots disappear within seconds.
In short: both steps must be booked together, so whichever step is scarcer decides whether you get an appointment. For B1/B2 and H1B, the scarce one is the interview.
What to Watch Out For on the Interview Page
- Fewer cities may be listed. After booking an OFC in Kolkata, one applicant found only Kolkata left in the interview dropdown. Check whichever cities are available, one after another.
- The two dates aren't necessarily close together. OFC and interview dates are now offered separately, and the interview may be weeks or even months after the OFC.
- It's easy to get rate limited. Switching cities frantically as soon as you reach the interview page will quickly get you rate limited, and your hold time is wasted. See Error 1015: what to do.
What Should You Do During the Hold Window?
- Don't log out, and don't reload the whole page. Switching cities in the interview page dropdown re-checks availability; a full page reload uses up your daily page views.
- Check cities in turn at a steady pace, leaving a short gap between checks instead of clicking nonstop.
- Don't give up when you see No Slots Available. It only means there are no slots at that moment. Interview slots that others cancel can appear at any time, and some people have booked one just before their hold ran out.
- If SGA10 appears when time runs out, go back to Home and start again from the OFC. See What the SGA10 error means.
Already Have an Appointment and Want an Earlier One?
Rescheduling in the two-step system also starts with the OFC. According to the community, the new pair only replaces your existing appointment once the interview is booked too; if you only get an earlier OFC and no interview, your original appointment stays.
However, one applicant who submitted an OFC while rescheduling, but didn't get an interview, then saw a message saying only one reschedule was left. They weren't sure whether the failed attempt had been counted, and no one in the thread could say for sure. Reschedules are limited, so check how many you have left before you start.
Can't Keep Up During the Hold? Let LuckyBee Book It for You
The hardest part of two-step booking is the few dozen minutes after your OFC is booked: you have to keep watching the interview page, check city by city, and not go too fast. LuckyBee Expedite supports two-step usvisascheduling booking in India and other countries:
- 24/7 automatic monitoring for OFC slots; once one is booked, we automatically check interview slots in every city you accept within the hold window;
- If the hold expires without an interview, we automatically start again from the OFC — you don't need to sit at your computer;
- We notify you once both are booked. You pay only after the appointment is booked; no booking, no charge.
FAQ
Q: How long do I have to book the consular interview after booking the OFC? A: There's no official figure. In 2026 most applicants say about 45 minutes; older posts mention 30 or 60 minutes. Start looking for an interview slot as soon as your OFC is booked, and don't log out.
Q: If I booked the OFC but not the interview, does the OFC booking still count? A: No. If you don't book an interview within the hold window, the OFC booking is cancelled automatically, the slot goes back into the pool, and you have to start again from the OFC.
Q: What does SGA10 on the interview page mean? A: It usually means the OFC hold has expired. Go back to Home, click the booking link again, and start from the OFC.
Q: Will booking the OFC over and over get my account flagged? A: We haven't seen reliable reports of accounts being blocked for repeatedly booking the OFC. But frequent actions in a short time can trigger rate limiting, so pace your checks.
Q: What if the interview page only shows one city? A: Some applicants have found that after booking an OFC, the interview page only lists the city where the OFC was booked. In that case you can only check that city, or choose a different city the next time you book the OFC.