With effect from Monday, September 19, 2011, the U.S. Consular Exchange rate will be adjusted to INR 50 to a US$ from the existing INR 47 to one US$. This revision in the exchange rate will affect the INR equivalent for all the non-immigrant, immigrant visa and citizenship services application fees paid on or after…

A recent update on the VFS website indicates that the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata would be closed on Thursday, September 15, 2011 and September 16, 2011 and again from Monday, October 3, 2011 to Tuesday, October 11, 2001. U.S. visa applicants planning to appear for a visa interview in Kolkata need to plan their visit…

The U.S. Consulate in Mumbai will resume services for H and L visas. The interview schedule for H and L visas will be opened from August 26, 2011. This schedule will allow H / L visa applicants to schedule interview dates starting from September 6, 2011. This update can be found here.

In an earlier article we had indicated that it is required for children born to U.S. Legal Permanent Residents while outside the U.S. to obtain a Transportation Letter. A recent update on the Consular website of U.S. Consulate, Chennai clarifies that this is optional but obtaining this would avoid confusion with some of the airlines.…

A report from the Office of the Inspector General on US diplomatic posts in India, recommends (recommendation # 24 and 25) that the US consulate in Chennai should be designated as the only post in India, authorized to adjudicate blanket L visa applications. It is understood that this recommendation is for consular managers in India…

Subscribers to MurthyIndiaBulletin and visitors of MurthyIndiaDotCom are well warned about the consequences of providing false information at the visa interview or producing fraudulent documents in support of a visa application. In July 2011, three U.S. visa applicants at the U.S. Consulate in Chennai were arrested for using falsified documents and adopting fraudulent means to…

USCIS in a press release in late may had announced that with effect from August 15, 2011, US Citizen petitioners residing in Countries without a USCIS office would be able to file the I-130 from with the USCIS Chicago Lockbox facility. The number of such petitions accounts for about 5% of all I-130 petitions filed…

A clarification issued by the U.S. Consulate in Hyderabad through the VFS regarding submission of documents indicates that applicants required to submit the documents for certain categories of nonimmigrant visas are allowed to do so only 3 to 5 working days prior to the date of visa interview. Applicants will not be permitted to do…

U.S. nonimmigrant visa applicants applying from India need to provide the address for delivery for the passport if a visa is issued at the time of scheduling the visa interview. If delivery is not available to their address, they may choose to hold the passport at the VFS or the Blue Dart location. If the…

As many nonimmigrant visa applicants may already be aware, new visa application form DS-160 was introduced in January 2010 replacing the earlier Form DS-156; DS-157 and DS-158. We had reported this on January 8, 2010. Since its introduction, the process to complete the Form DS-160 has been constantly streamlined. However, in the last week of…