We had originally reported on December 1, 2011 that all immigrant visa applications for South India would be processed by the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai. This was officially updated on the VFS website on January 20, 2012 and this update can be found here. A news update on the English Daily “The Hindu” indicates that the…

As the value of US$ grows higher, the Consular Exchange Rate has been revised one more time with effect from today (November 29, 2011). The revised consular rate is INR 54 to a US$ from the most recent revision of INR 52 to a US$. Effectively, the INR equivalent for all the non-immigrant and immigrant…

An Updated posted on the VFS website (Official parter for U.S. diplomatic mission in India for administrative functions relating to U.S. Visa application process) indicates that all non-immigrant visa appointments scheduled at U.S. Consulate in Hyderabad for Friday, November 25, 2011 is rescheduled for a later dates. It is understood that the new interview date…

With the steep rise in US$ rates, the consulate has revised the exchange rate from Rs. 50 to a US$ to Rs. 52 to a US$. This comes into effect from November 16, 2011. Effectively, the INR equivalent all the non-immigrant and immigrant visa application fee would be affected. The new non-immigrant visa application fee…

We had reported in August 2011 that processing of Blanket L visas would be moved to U.S. Consulate in Chennai in the near future. A recent press release indicates that the centralized processing of the Blanket L visa category will commence from December 1, 2011. Effectively, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and U.S. Consulates…

A news update on the U.S. Consulate, Mumbai’s website indicates that the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai is shifting their premises from “Lincoln House”, Breach Candy and their American Center in Church Gate to their new facility at “Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC)”.  The consulate office at Lincoln House will be closed with effect from November 15,…

Subscribers to MurthyIndiaBulletin and regular readers of MurthyIndiaDotCom are aware that the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi; U.S. Consulate in Mumbai and Hyderabad provided comprehensive support through VFS and stopped direct communication. With effect from Tuesday, November 1, 2011, the Consular Section in Chennai has shifted correspondence via the VFS service for response to inquiries.…

Regular visitors to MurthyIndiaDotCom and Subscribers to MurthyIndiaBulletin may be aware that the applicants opting for visa interview English or Hindi could apply at anyone of the U.S. Consulate / Embassy within in India from December 03, 2010. Previously, even if one had chosen a different Consulate / Embassy under the location option while completed…

Earlier, when a visa was issued, the U.S. Consulate, Chennai used to retain the Consulate copy of the HDFC receipt. Recently we have received many calls from visa applicants expressing concern that U.S. Consulate, Chennai did not retain the Consulate’s copy of the HDFC receipt and returned both the embassy copy (with yellow barcode) and…

Beginning November 1, 2011 all visa applicant(s) at U.S. Kolkata will have to submit their documents in response to a query under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act at their nearest VFS; unless specifically instructed to re-appear with all documents. It may be noted that earlier the applicants were requested to re-appear with…