Until now, there was no service charge or fee at the U.S. Consulates in India for collection of documents from one of the Visa Application Centers (VAC) or from one of the document-collection centers. Premium doorstep document delivery was offered at INR 500 (per package). Effective August 17, 2021, the U.S. consular posts in India…

U.S. visa applicants in India may be aware that the consular posts in India have prioritised student visa applications. Though the consular posts have resumed processing of immigrant visas, at Murthy Immigration Services Private Limited (MISPL) we have noticed that very limited or no interview slots are available for immigrant visa applicants in India. Effectively,…

We had earlier reported on the procedure to obtain a National Interest Exception (NIE).  A NIE is issued only under limited circumstances for H or L applicants. Applicants without a valid visa cannot apply for a NIE directly or ahead of the visa interview. Travellers with a valid U.S. visa who believe they are eligible for the…

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that Cloudgen LLC, a consulting and strategic solutions company based out of South Dairy Ashford Road in Houston pleaded guilty of conspiring to commit visa fraud from March 2013 to December 2020. The extent to which the employees were aware of the fraud and participated in it is…

In a bid to boost the tourism sector in India, the Indian Government has announced that it will issue free one-month tourist visas. Free one-month tourist visas will be issued to the first 5 lakh applicants or until March 31, 2022; whichever is earlier. This free benefit will be extended only once per tourist. The…

Until March 31, 2021, U.S. nonimmigrant visa applicants whose nonimmigrant visa of the same category expired within 24 months were eligible for an interview waiver.In March 2021, Secretary Blinken, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, temporarily expanded the ability of consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for individuals applying for a…

The pandemic has impacted people from all walks of life. Fresh graduates across the globe are no exception. Many aspiring student visa applicants have not been able to secure a job after graduation on account of COVID-19. Consequently, they are concerned about the gap between their bachelor’s degree and the application of student visa to pursue…

The U.S. Embassy in India in a notification today has reiterated that student visas remain a top priority for the U.S. Mission to India. This updates also indicates that the posts in India are making every attempt to facilitate students to travel to the United States in time for their fall semester. On June 14, 2021…

In a August 2020 press release by the U.S. Department of State indicates that as consular posts worldwide resume operations depending on local conditions, priority would be given to K visas. It is important to note that K-1 petitions are approved with validity of four months. If the applicant was unable to apply for the K-1…

The U.S. Consulate General, Chennai in a tweet dated June 6, 2021 has updated that their office is cancelling all routine non-immigrant visa interview appointments, interview waiver appointments and routine American Citizen service appointments until June 11, 2021.  The post will continue to offer emergency appointments as permitted by local conditions. The post will try…