Reference
US visa terms, in plain language
What the abbreviations on your appointment and application actually mean.
- OFC
- Offsite Facilitation Center. Where applicants in India give fingerprints and a photo before the interview.
- VAC
- Visa Application Center. A general term for centres handling biometrics and document collection.
- Consular interview
- The appointment with a visa officer, who decides the application.
- DS-160
- The online nonimmigrant visa application form, completed before booking.
- MRV fee
- Machine-readable visa fee, the standard nonimmigrant visa application fee.
- Visa Integrity Fee
- A separate US fee of at least $250 created in 2025, due when a nonimmigrant visa is issued.
- Interview waiver (dropbox)
- Processing without an in-person interview. Eligibility narrowed sharply from 2 September 2025.
- Reschedule
- Moving a booked appointment. India allows one free change; another requires a new fee.
- Nonimmigrant visa (NIV)
- A US visa for a temporary stay, such as B1/B2, F1 or H1B.
- B1/B2
- Visitor visa for business (B1) and tourism or medical visits (B2).
- F1
- Student visa for academic study at a US institution.
- I-20
- The certificate from a US school that an F-1 student needs to apply.
- SEVIS fee
- A fee for the US student and exchange visitor tracking system, paid by F and J applicants.
- H1B
- Work visa for specialty occupations, sponsored by a US employer.
- H4
- Dependent visa for the spouse and children of H-visa holders.
- I-797
- A USCIS notice, such as an approval of an H-1B petition, used at the visa interview.
- L1/L2
- Intra-company transfer visa (L1) and its dependent visa (L2).
- J1
- Exchange visitor visa, which requires a DS-2019 form.
- O1
- Visa for people with extraordinary ability or achievement.
- Earliest date seen
- On SlotWatch, the soonest date AppointVisa's team recently recorded. It may no longer be available.