In a press release on September 5, 2012, the current Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs, Julia Stanley, announced that with effect from Wednesday, September 26, 2012, a new visa processing system will be introduced throughout India. This new system will standardize procedures, simplify fee payment and appointment scheduling for visa applicants. At the time of this writing, we believe that this new system will primarily affect nonimmigrant visa applicants and certain immigrant visa applicants. In this article, we summarize the significant changes introduced in the new system.

Multiple Modes of Payment

With the new system, visa applicants will be able to pay the visa application fees using (i) Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT); (ii) mobile phones; (iii) cash at over 1,800 Axis bank branches across India.

At this time, it is not clear if the HDFC bank will continue to receive the visa application fees. At the time of this writing, payment of visa application fee is possible only through one of the designated HDFC banks situated at the Metros.

Receipt will be activated within an hour of payment

It is understood that the applicants will receive a message on their mobile phone within one hour of payment of the visa application fees. S/he will be able to schedule an appointment immediately after this. This is a significant change, which will benefit urgent travellers. Readers of MurthyIndiaDotCom may recollect that previously, the receipt purchased at HDFC bank will be activated only after two working days from the date of purchase and applicants will be able to schedule an appointment only after this.

Appointment can be scheduled over Phone or Online

With introduction of the new system, visa applicants will be able to schedule visa interview appointments either online or by phone. Previously this was possible only online using the website of Visa Facilitation Services Global (VFS Global) website. VFS Global is currently the administrative partner for U.S. diplomatic missions in India, handling the visa application process. According to the press release, effective September 26, 2012 applicants will have to schedule an appointment using www.ustraveldocs.com/in or by contacting one of the new call centre(s) over phone. This website will be available in English and Hindi. At the time of this writing only basic information is available on this website.

Easier for Companies and Travel Agents to Handle Multiple Applicants

The press release indicates that companies and travel agents will be permitted to purchase multiple fee receipts for group travel. They will also have a feature that permits scheduling visa interview for group travel and a feature to schedule emergency / expedited appointments.

Help Available in Multiple Modes and For Extended Duration including Sundays

The new system will provide assistance to visa applicants by addressing their questions by phone, email or online chat. Previously this assistance was available only over phone and email. It is understood that the call centres will be located in Noida and Hyderabad. The call centre will support inquiries in Hindi, English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil and Telugu. The call centres will function for extended time from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Indian standard Time (IST), Monday to Friday. On Sundays, the centre will function from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. IST. The contact number for the call centres if dialling from India will be 0120-660-2222 or 022-6720-9400 and if dialling from the U.S. the number would be +1-310-616-5424. Email support is to be provided both in English and Hindi and applicant may email their questions to support-india@ustraveldocs.com. The chat feature will be available directly from www.ustraveldocs.com/in during the working hours indicated above.

Two Appointments Needed

The new system will require visa applicants to schedule two appointments. As the first step, visa applicants will have to visit an Offsite Facilitation Centre (OFC) to submit their fingerprints and a photograph. As the name suggests, we understand that the OFCs will be located at places other than the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and at the U.S. Consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. The exact location of the OFCs is not clear. Following this, they will have to visit the U.S. Embassy / Consulate for the visa interview if s/he does not qualify for the Interview Waiver Program.

Separate Appointment For Biometrics Could Cause Inconvenience

Though this system is expected to reduce congestion at the embassy / consulate(s) in India; applicants residing at places, that do not have an OFC nearby, may have to travel twice for the process. At this time, it is not clear if the applicant will be permitted to provide biometrics and photograph on the same day as the visa interview or on the day prior to the interview. If applicant(s) have to provide this a few days prior to the visa interview, this could cause significant inconvenience, if they hail from places in India, which do not have an OFC.

OFC would Benefit applicant(s) eligible for Interview Waiver Program (IWP)

We had reported in March that certain visa applicants are eligible for IWP. This update is available here. Applicants who qualify for the IWP may not have to visit the U.S. embassy / consulate under the new system as the biometrics can be provided at an OFC near the applicant’s residence. Certain applicants (who have already been ten-finger printed) and are renewing their visas may not even have to visit an OFC or the embassy/consulate.

New Delivery System for both immigrant and nonimmigrant(s) documents

The new system will deliver passports, visas, immigrant visa packets and other related documents at 33 document-pick-up locations across India within one week from the date of interview. This service is to be offered free of charge. Applicants will be notified by email and Short Messaging Service (SMS) when the documents are ready for pickup.

At present, the VFS charges a processing fee of INR 387, which includes delivery of passports to areas serviced by Blue Dart. It is unclear if applicants will be able to continue to have documents delivered to their address by paying an additional fee.

Conclusion

In this press release, Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs, Julia Stanley concludes by stating that the visa adjudication process will remain the same and that all applicants will have to meet the eligibility criteria for their respective visa categories before a visa can be issued. In the long term, applicants who need to renew their visas may not have to visit an OFC or the embassy / consulate. We at Murthy Immigration Services will continue to keep our readers informed on any further information available on this new system. This press release from the embassy can be found here.