Guide · Medical and interview preparation
If an Interview Has to Be Moved, or Is Missed
If you cannot attend or have missed an interview, contact the interviewing embassy or consulate using its instructions. Keep your appointment notice, request, and reply. An immigrant-visa transfer uses a separate National Visa Center (NVC) process.
For: Couples with a scheduled interview that may need to move, or one that has already been missed.
Written from official U.S. government sources. Last reviewed August 2026. Sources and limits. 2 sources await review.
At a glance
- Contact the interviewing embassy if you cannot attend. State directs applicants to its rescheduling instructions.
- For immigrant visas, do not leave a missed interview unaddressed. Read State’s non-contact warning below.
- A transfer to another immigrant-visa embassy or consulate is different. State directs that request through NVC.
- Save appointment notices, requests, and replies. A request does not establish a new date.
Contact the interviewing embassy about the appointment
Origin: official source. Official sourceStated by a US government publisher on the page we cite.Sources
State directs applicants who cannot attend to contact the interviewing embassy or consulate promptly and use its rescheduling instructions.
For immigrant visas, State warns that no contact within a year of receiving the appointment letter may lead to case termination, petition cancellation, and no fee refund. Read the current interview instructions. This warning does not establish a safe waiting period.
For a transfer to a different immigrant-visa embassy or consulate, use the separate NVC transfer process.
- The interview stage and where it is held: the immigrant visa interview.
- Preparation, including what the embassy or consulate asks of applicants: prepare for the interview.
- The published index of embassies and consulates: U.S. embassies and consulates directory.
What the official material does and does not settle
Origin: official source. Official sourceStated by a US government publisher on the page we cite.Sources
Can this appointment be moved?
- Who answers it
- Use the interviewing embassy’s current rescheduling instructions. A transfer to a different immigrant-visa embassy or consulate has a separate NVC route.
How do we ask?
- Who answers it
- Use the embassy’s official appointment channel; for an immigrant-visa embassy or consulate transfer, follow NVC’s instructions.
Is there a deadline for asking?
- Who answers it
- Check the embassy’s local rules. State also publishes a general immigrant-visa warning about failing to contact the embassy or consulate after a missed interview.
What happens if the appointment is missed?
- Who answers it
- Contact the interviewing embassy promptly. State’s non-contact warning applies to immigrant visas; ask an attorney about your case’s consequences.
When will a new date come?
- Who answers it
- Nobody publishes an estimate for an individual case.
Authority for each question
| Question | Who answers it |
|---|---|
| Can this appointment be moved? | Use the interviewing embassy’s current rescheduling instructions. A transfer to a different immigrant-visa embassy or consulate has a separate NVC route. |
| How do we ask? | Use the embassy’s official appointment channel; for an immigrant-visa embassy or consulate transfer, follow NVC’s instructions. |
| Is there a deadline for asking? | Check the embassy’s local rules. State also publishes a general immigrant-visa warning about failing to contact the embassy or consulate after a missed interview. |
| What happens if the appointment is missed? | Contact the interviewing embassy promptly. State’s non-contact warning applies to immigrant visas; ask an attorney about your case’s consequences. |
| When will a new date come? | Nobody publishes an estimate for an individual case. |
Use the official appointment instructions
Origin: Togetherward explanation. Togetherward explanationOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
Read your interviewing embassy’s current instructions. Togetherward links to the embassy or consulate when its reviewed record is missing, unpublished, out of date, changed, or conflicting. Another couple’s experience does not establish your appointment rules.
- Open your interviewing embassy’s official appointment instructions.
- Use the contact channel it names.
- Ask the responsible office to clarify conflicting instructions rather than choosing one yourself.
- If no rescheduling instructions are published, ask through the embassy or consulate’s official contact channel.
Keep the request and appointment history
Origin: suggested action. Suggested actionA way to organise your own case. Optional, and required by nobody.
Both partners can use one record to check what was requested and whether the office issued a new appointment.
1. Save the original appointment
BaselineEither partner can save its date, time, embassy, and notice.
2. Record why the date cannot be kept
ReasonKeep a factual note and any related document with the appointment record.
3. Save the rescheduling request
RequestThe applicant can keep the message, official channel used, and submission time.
4. Save replies
ReplyRecord each reply and date. Note when no reply arrives.
5. Save any new appointment
OutcomeKeep both the original notice and the new notice.
Ask about case-specific consequences
Origin: Togetherward explanation. Togetherward explanationOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
Ask an immigration attorney about a missed appointment, an unclear or unfavorable reply, or document-validity and travel problems affecting the date. This guide cannot assess the legal consequences for your case.
What comes next
Origin: Togetherward explanation. Togetherward explanationOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
- The day itself, once a date is settled: what happens at an immigrant visa interview.
- What to carry: interview document checklist.
- The wait before scheduling: documentarily qualified, and after.
- Your embassy or consulate's own instructions: embassies.
Common questions
How do we reschedule?
What happens if we miss the interview?
Is there a deadline for asking to move a date?
How long will a new appointment take?
Related guides
- Medical and interview preparationWhat Happens at an Immigrant Visa InterviewUnderstand the general shape of a consular immigrant visa interview day
- Medical and interview preparationWhat to Take to the Interview, and in What FormAssemble and maintain the documents an applicant takes to a consular interview
- Civil documents and documentary qualificationDocumentarily Qualified, and the Wait That FollowsInterpret a documentarily qualified record and understand the wait for interview scheduling
How Togetherward helps
SuggestionRecord the original appointment, rescheduling request, official replies, and any new notice in Togetherward. It does not contact an agency or change the appointment.
- Look at the sample case — Opens Joe and Kat’s fictional sample workspace.
- See the other guides — Opens the guide library index.
- Apply for the private beta — Opens the beta page, where you can read what the beta covers and apply.
Jump straight to the checklist
These open without signing in.
- What the interviewing post decides on the day
Scheduling authority sits with the post, not with the general process.
- See how a recorded interview checklist looks
The fictional sample case shows appointment preparation items recorded by both partners. No sign-in.
In Togetherward
Sign in to your case to continue where this leaves off.
Sign in to continueThis page explains who holds authority over an appointment and how to keep a record. It is not legal advice. A missed or contested appointment is a situation to take to an immigration attorney.
Sources and limits
Last reviewed and verification status
- Last reviewed
- Last recorded source review: . We aim to re-read it every 90 days.
- Review recorded.
- Verification status of the sources behind this page
- 3 of 5 sources are recorded as checked. 2 are awaiting verification. See the note beside each pending source for what remains to be checked.
Verified (3)
- VerifiedDepartment of State — The immigrant visa interview — checked as part of the page review.
- VerifiedDepartment of State — Prepare for the interview — checked as part of the page review.
- VerifiedDepartment of State — The immigrant visa process — checked as part of the page review.
Pending verification (2)
- Pending verificationDepartment of State — Applicant interview and missed appointments — A direct source read supports the revised wording about missed interviews and transfer requests. Full guide review against this source is still pending; the recorded page review date has not changed. Flagged .
- Pending verificationDepartment of State — Immigrant visa interview location and transfer requests — A direct source read supports the revised wording about missed interviews and transfer requests. Full guide review against this source is still pending; the recorded page review date has not changed. Flagged .
About this guide and its review
Guide scope
- Medical and interview preparation
- CR-1 / IR-1 (Form I-130)
- K-1 (Form I-129F)
- F2A (spouse of a permanent resident)
- K-2 (child of a K-1 applicant)
- Who this is for
- Couples with a scheduled interview that may need to move, or one that has already been missed.
- Stage it covers
- The interview stage, before or immediately after a scheduled appointment.
- What it helps you do
- Identify the right authority, act through the published channel, and keep proof of what you asked and when.
- What this page cannot tell you
- Your embassy’s current rescheduling channel or local rules; check its official instructions.
- What a missed appointment means for your case. State publishes a general immigrant-visa non-contact warning, but this guide cannot assess individual consequences.
- Whether a reason will be accepted. That is not a determination anyone here can make.
- How long a new appointment takes to arrive. No queue position or estimate exists for an individual case.
How we put this page together
Togetherward analysisThis guide uses State’s interview, preparation, and embassy-directory pages. State directs rescheduling to the interviewing embassy or consulate and publishes a missed-interview warning for immigrant visas. A transfer to another immigrant-visa embassy or consulate is a separate NVC process. Embassy details require a current reviewed record.
What we did not include
- Local rescheduling channels, forms, or deadlines not established by the current embassy instructions.
- An assessment of how a missed appointment affects an individual case.
- Community reports about what an embassy or consulate allowed in a particular case.
- Anything predicting whether a request will be granted or how quickly.
Review record
- Author
- The Togetherward editorial team. The people who build Togetherward. We are not attorneys and we do not give legal advice.
- Review
- Reviewed by Togetherward Team
- Scope of review
Read the full review scope
Review scope: a second person on the Togetherward editorial team re-read this page against the official pages listed below and confirmed that every process statement still matches them. That is what our review covers, and it is described in full in our editorial standards. It does not assess legal accuracy, eligibility, or how anything applies to a particular case — for that, speak with a qualified immigration attorney.
- Dates
- Last reviewed · Published .
- Review status: Review recorded.
- How this guide was prepared
- How we review guides.
- What the labels in this guide mean
- Official factStated by a U.S. government publisher on the source page we cite.
- Togetherward analysisOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
- SuggestionA way to organise your own case. Optional, and not a requirement.
- Limitations
- This is an explanation of a published government process, not legal advice, and not a prediction about your case.
- Figures that move — processing ranges, Visa Bulletin dates, fees, form editions, interview availability — are described rather than reproduced here, so you read the current number at the source.
- USCIS, the National Visa Center, the embassy, or the consular officer may ask for something this page does not mention.
- Follow the interviewing embassy or consulate’s instructions if you cannot attend. The guide records State’s missed-contact warning but does not calculate a personal deadline or decide whether a case will be terminated. Immigrant-visa transfer requests use the separate NVC route described by State.
- Commercial independence
- Commercial independence: nobody pays to appear on this page. There are no sponsors, no advertising, no referral fees, no affiliate links, and no paid placement of any attorney, agency, or service. Togetherward makes money from couples who use the product, and a commercial relationship cannot change what this page says, when it was last reviewed, whether it is flagged as out of date, or whether it stays in search results.
- Corrections
- Report a correction using the form below, support@togetherward.app or use the support page.