Regular readers of MurthyIndiaBulletin and visitors to www.MurthyIndia.com are aware of the new application process. In recent times, we at MISPL had several inquiries on completion of visa application form for family members and on the technical issues while completing form DS-160. We had reported in our March 5, 2010 bulletin that there was a technical problem with the online application system for completion of form DS-160. We notice a significant improvement in the application system.

Specification for Size of Digital Photograph Required for Form DS-160

The current specification for uploading the digital photograph online while completing form DS-160 is a maximum of 240 KiloBytes. It may be recalled that earlier, the system used to accept digital photographs with a maximum limit of 1 MegaByte. This new requirement could be part of the Department of State’s efforts to streamline the online DS-160 application process. In practice, we recommend applicants to limit the maximum size of the digital image to be well below the 240 KiloByte limit to make sure they are able to upload without any errors. When the size is exactly 240 KiloBytes, some applicants still faced error while trying to upload the photograph. More information on this can be found here.

Procedure for Applicants Who Plan to Travel with Family Members or Co-workers

It may be noted that once an applicant completes and submits the form DS-160 by digitally signing the application form, they will have the option to create an application for a family member or co-worker. The term digital signature refers to the applicant entering his/her passport number and the code displayed on the last screen in the process of completing the visa application form. Once this is done, the visa application confirmation sheet is generated.

Applicants are encouraged to use this option as it could save time since common entries will be pre-populated. Similarly, at the time of scheduling an appointment, they may add the family member or co-worker by providing their HDFC receipt number and barcode number displayed on the non-immigrant visa application confirmation sheet.

We will continue to keep you informed on any changes to this system.

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