Frequently Asked Questions

Our service works for all non-immigrant visa types including B1/B2 (tourist/business), F1 (student), H1B (work), and others. The scheduling process is the same regardless of visa type, though availability may vary by category and embassy.

To book an appointment on your behalf, we need your visa scheduling portal username and password. If you are using the CGI system (e.g. China), we also require the answers to your three security questions — this is specific to CGI and not required for AIS or AVITS users. These credentials are used exclusively to log in and monitor/book appointments — we never use them for any other purpose. We do not need your DS-160, passport number, or any other visa documents. Your credentials are stored securely and encrypted; see our Privacy Policy for details.

Tomato Visa works by monitoring the official visa scheduling website on your behalf — the same website you would check yourself. We use your own credentials to log in, watch for available slots, and book one the moment it appears. We have no special access to embassy systems or staff, and we do not interact with your application beyond the scheduling step. This approach is similar in nature to using a travel agent or calendar reminder service, just significantly more efficient. We've helped tens of thousands of applicants navigate what can otherwise be a months-long wait, and we take the security and discretion of every account seriously. Please note: you still need to complete your own DS-160 form and attend the interview personally — we only handle the appointment slot.

While traditional wait times can be 6–24 months, our service typically secures appointments within 1–2 weeks. However, exact timing depends entirely on slot availability at your chosen embassy location and cannot be guaranteed. We continuously monitor for openings and act immediately when slots appear.

You can request a refund at any time before we successfully book an appointment for you. Use the self-service Refund page on our site or email support@tomatovisa.io. Refunds are processed within 5–10 business days. No refunds are issued after an appointment has been booked, as the service has been fully delivered at that point. Please note: payment processing fees may be non-refundable depending on the payment method used. The amount returned to you may be slightly less than what you originally paid.

It depends on where you are in the process. If an appointment has already been booked, our service is considered complete. You can reschedule directly through your embassy account at any time, though we recommend caution as rescheduling may result in a later date. If you'd like an even earlier slot, you're welcome to start a new service request with us. If an appointment has not yet been booked, we currently do not support modifying your preferences (such as date range or city) mid-service. The simplest path is to request a refund on your current order and submit a new request with your updated preferences. Payment is required upfront for the new request, but you can request a full refund at any time if we haven't yet secured an appointment (note that payment processing fees may be non-refundable).

Technically yes, but it's not recommended. Logging into your account at the same time as our system may cause the appointment page to fail to load — this is a limitation of the visa website itself and usually resolves within a few days. Important: if you manually secure a slot while our service is running, no refund will be guaranteed, as we cannot verify who booked the slot. If you prefer to search manually, please cancel your service first and the refund will be processed automatically (note that payment processing fees may be non-refundable).

No. Our service works whether or not you currently have an existing appointment, and it will never cancel your appointment automatically. That said, canceling your existing appointment can improve your chances of finding an earlier slot. If you're comfortable giving up your current date, we recommend canceling before starting the service.

Yes, please resubmit your booking request to update this information. You won't need to pay again until we successfully secure your appointment.