Today, September 17, 2012, the new U.S. Visa application website (http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in) was partially functional. Visa applicants will have to create a user account to be able to use this site. One login is sufficient for a family. At the time of this writing the new system does not permit to provide home address for delivery of passport (though this is indicated as an option on the instructions). Further, the PIN number on the fee receipt issued by HDFC bank does not seem to be supported by the new system. We are in the process of gathering information on procedure to be followed by visa applicants who have already paid at the HDFC bank and yet to schedule an appointment. Document pickup is available at the following cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Baroda, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Ernakulam, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nangpur, New Delhi, Panaji, Patna, Puducherry, Pune, Raipur, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati, Vijayawada and Vishakapatnam.

We will keep our readers informed on any progress on this new system.