We at Murthy Immigration Services often are asked who may accompany visa applicant(s) for the visa interview. The answer is found on the instructions page of every visa appointment letter, clearly stating that a responsible adult may accompany a minor applicant who is younger than age 16. Similarly, applicants over 60, who have a physical…

Regular readers of MurthyIndiaBulletin, and visitors to MurthyIndiaDOTCom, may be aware that the U.S. Embassy, and most U.S. Consulates in India, once provided Stars and Stripes Lounge services at their Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) locations. However, when the U.S. Embassy/Consulates partnered with ustraveldocs in September 2012, this facility was no-longer available. Visa applicants in Mumbai…

The U.S. Visa Application Center in India has launched a new feature for travel coordinators who need to schedule appointments for multiple travelers. Regular readers of MurthyIndiaDotCom and MurthyIndiaBulletin may be aware that, under the new visa application system introduced in September 2012, applicants must create a profile at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/in in order to schedule an…

Regular readers of MurthyIndiaDotCom are aware that the U.S. Citizenship Services Section of the U.S. Consulate General, Chennai, periodically provides outreach services at Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), to help U.S. citizens. The next outreach program at Bengaluru is scheduled for March 19, 20, and 21, 2013. U.S. citizens can avail themselves of the following services with…

Both U.S. immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants can now check the status of their applications online at the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) website (https://ceac.state.gov/CEAC/). The hyperlink to verify the status of application(s) was available when the new visa application system was introduced in 2012, but this particular feature was not functional until recently. We expect this…

Regular readers of MurthyIndiaBulletin are aware that the new visa application system, introduced in India in September 2012, requires nonimmigrant visa applicants to create a profile at www.ustraveldoc.com/in after completion of Form DS-160, and to generate the payment code to remit the visa application fee. Following this, they must schedule the visa interview. In its…

From time to time, we inform our readers about changes in the nonimmigrant visa application process in India. One such change, introduced in November 2012, is that the nonimmigrant visa application (Form DS-160), no longer requires the applicant to upload his/her digital photograph when completing the form online. Those filing online will notice that, upon…

With the introduction of new nonimmigrant visa process in India, effective September 26, 2012, most nonimmigrant visa applicants will be fingerprinted at an OFC using an ink-free digital fingerprint scan. Children under 14 years and elders over 79 years of age are not required to provide their fingerprints. Some applicants, like officials on government business,…

On December 13, 2012, the United States and Canada signed an agreement to share visa and immigration information of third-country nationals who apply for visas or travel permits for either country. This agreement is intended to increase the safety and security of the U.S. and Canada, and to facilitate legitimate travel and business. Under the…