Till recently the U.S. Consulate in Chennai used to receive close to 1,300 U.S. visa applications every day. With the opening of U.S. Consulate in Hyderabad, which currently processes around 300 to 400 applications every day with a target of processing 500 applications every day, we understand the numbers in Chennai have reduced considerably. While the procedures are similar at New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, there is a slight difference in the procedure at U.S. Consulate in Mumbai. Under current laws and procedures, all nonimmigrant visa applicants are required to appear for personal visa interviews. What follows is detailed information about the general application process, and answers to frequently asked questions.

What Are the Basic Steps Involved in the Visa Application Process?

Before one can appear for a nonimmigrant visa interview at a U.S. consulate/Embassy, it is necessary to complete certain administrative steps. This is separate from any legal requirements for applications or petitions that must be approved in the U.S. prior to the visa application. These requirements vary by visa category, with some categories, such as the B-1/B-2 visitor, not requiring any prior approvals.

The basic steps of the visa application are: (1) payment of the machine-readable visa application fee and service charge, (2) selection of the appropriate U.S. consulate / embassy, (3) completion of the appropriate visa application forms online and selection of the interview date, (4) preparation for the actual interview, and (5) post interview.

Steps 1 and 2 will be addressed in detail in the current edition of the MurthyIndiaBulletin. Steps 3 to 5 will be provided in the July 2009 edition of MurthyIndiaBulletin.

Step 1: Payment of the Machine-Readable Visa Fee and Service Charge 

Applicable fees

The first step in applying for a nonimmigrant visa is to pay the requisite machine-readable visa application fee and the Visa Facilitation Service (VFS) fee. This must be paid at one of the designated HDFC Bank locations. The current fee to apply for a nonimmigrant visa is the Indian rupee equivalent of U.S. $131. There is a service fee of Indian Rupee (INR) 374. At the current exchange rate, the visa application fee is INR 6,550 (Current Exchange Rate is INR 50 to one US$). Blanket L visa applicants need a demand draft for the equivalent of US$ 500 at the interview. While purchasing the HDFC receipt, it is better for the applicant’s to ensure that the expiry date of their passport is beyond 6 months from their date of intended travel. Latest fee information can be found here.

What is required while visiting the HDFC Bank? 

One needs a copy of the first and last page of the applicant’s passport printed on one side of a single sheet of A4 paper. If the visa applicant visits the HDFC Bank personally, s/he may pay the fee in cash. If the representative visits the HDFC Bank, s/he will need the passport copy in above format, along with two demand drafts, one favoring the “U.S. Embassy – Visa fees” for the visa application fee and another favoring the “HDFC Bank a/c VFS” for the visa service charge. Travel agents and bulk applicants may only use designated HDFC branches, specified on the VFS website.

Validity of the HDFC receipt

Once the payment is made, the HDFC receipt will be issued in duplicate. The applicant or representative should verify the passport information. This receipt is valid for one year from date of issue and will contain a PIN number, which will be needed to schedule the visa interview. This PIN is activated two business days after issuance.

If the applicant loses or has to change the passport after obtaining the HDFC receipt, but prior to interview, the interview may be scheduled using the old passport. It is necessary to inform the VFS prior to the interview, as well as the prescreening counter at the time of interview.

What happens if one is unable to make it to the visa interview?

The day after the appointment, the applicant’s status is reflected as “No Show.” The applicant needs to contact the nearest VFS office and explain why the applicant was unable to appear for the interview. VFS will determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether to reactivate the PIN to permit scheduling another interview without repaying the full fees. However, there is a re-activation fee for this. Unless there is an emergency, this is not advisable.

HDFC locations 

There are currently 83 designated HDFC Banks in 24 cities across India. The addresses can be found here.

The locations are as follows, with the larger cities having multiple designated HDFC Banks.

Northern Region: New Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Amristar

Southern Region: Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, Vizag, Vijayawada

Western Region: Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Nagpur, Pune, Baroda, Surat, Panjim, Rajkot

Eastern Region: Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar

Step 2: Choosing the appropriate U.S. Consulate / Embassy 

Once the HDFC receipt is obtained, the next step is to schedule an interview at the appropriate location. Thus, applicants must appear at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi or at one of the U.S. consulates in Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad or Kolkata. This is determined based on the domicile of the applicant for the past six months or more. The jurisdiction of each consular district is listed below.

The only exception is for U.S. visa applicants residing in India and for Indian and Bhutanese citizens residing in the U.S. and holding valid H or L visas on their passports and applying for renewals. These applicants have the option of attending the interview at any location in India. It must be noted that this option is not applicable for dependants of primary H of L worker unless the dependants apply along with the primary H or L worker.

New Delhi Consular District covers the following states and territories:
Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, and the Kingdom of Bhutan

Chennai Consular District covers the following states and territories:
States of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territories of Lakshadweep Islands and Pondicherry

Kolkata Consular District covers the following states and territories:
States of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam and the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Mumbai Consular District covers the following states and territories:
States of Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and the Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Hyderabad Consular District which started operations in March 2009 covers only the State of Andhra Pradesh.

Emergency appointments 

In case of medical emergency or an urgent need to travel due to the death of a close family member, one may contact the appropriate consulate or embassy by phone or eMail, as provided on their websites, and request an emergency appointment. Such appointments often are given in one or two working days and, if the situation warrants, on the same day. Under certain limited circumstances, it is possible to request an expedited interview for certain other categories of visa classification as well.