u/ShoulderDangerous325

Hey all, I've just gone through a lot of admin booking appointments, trying to get an earlier slot, and going through this process for the first time - and wanted to share my learnings for anyone going through the process too. It was honestly pretty frustrating dealing with the online system so wanted to share some tips so my frustration is put to good use lol.

1. Migrate mate / American Josh

Check these sites for E3 calendar availability. They update them as regularly as they can, and this was helpful for me to pick which consulate to book. I will say that at times they were inaccurate / outdated so proceed with caution but generally it was a good estimate as to which consulates were more available than others.

2. You CANNOT bounce around different consulates on the site

I wanted to look around Melb / Perth / Syd availability but your application (within your account) is tied to one consulate. You select this when you start the application. If you want to see others, you'll have to close it, and start a new one, and select the consulate. Sometimes the website will bug out while you do this - I would recommend creating a second DS 160 (so you have a 2nd application number) so the system can start fresh.

3. You have to pay 315 USD before being able to see availability. You get 3 chances to reschedule or you pay again.

4. The website is actually ancient. Be patient with it, if the waiting room doesn't progress after a few minutes, close tab and try again. I refreshed a lot of times and it would randomly start to work. I was told on the hotline to use windows computer + chrome for best speed (?) Don't open too many tabs.

5. If you want to look for slots in another country - you'll have to call the hotline to transfer your account to do that. Wasn't able to figure out a way to do it myself.

6. If you have an appointment I would honestly just stick to it - it's not worth the hassle again. I had an appointment in Perth (preference was Sydney), saw a green slot on migrate mate, cancelled my Perth one, only to see that the Syd one wasn't available. I ended up getting one in Sydney by sheer luck, but it was hella stressful, should've just stuck to what I had

7. Good luck !

T LDR; I’m chatting to two companies atm. Not sure how to make a decision.

Company X: fastest loop I’ve ever done. 3 business days, did onsite, hiring manager chat etc, got an offer in 3/4 days. They were pretty late stage in their recruiting and so wanted to fast track me. Not super sexy software, based in SF, but good financials and exec team, and people. Have shown a lot of interest in me.

Company Y: slow. But fun, young, energetic company. They don’t make money at the moment but this would def be a lifestyle / vibes company, and objectively more “fun”.

My dilemma is I have an offer deadline of Friday for company X. Good offer. They are putting pressure on me. I’m mid stage with company X, I would have wayyy more fun working here, but they’ve been slow and have shown interest and are asking if I would ask for an offer extension.

Question here: is asking for an extension a bad look, and if I have a great offer on the table with a steady company, should I just take it? Feeling lost 🥲