This article is to clarify on procedure to be followed if a U.S. visa applicant purchased the HDFC receipt and had to subsequently renew the passport on which the HDFC receipt was originally purchased. At the time of application of visa, the applicant’s passport should be valid for a minimum of six months from the date of application. Often, applicants are faced with situations wherein there is an urgent need for travel and they realize that the passport is expiring in the near future. In such situations, the applicant may end up purchasing the HDFC receipt and scheduling the visa interview once the new passport has arrived or the applicant may schedule an appointment using the old passport attend the interview with the new passport. We are explaining the procedure to be followed in each of this situation.

Procedure If HDFC Receipt was purchased using old passport but new passport has arrived prior to scheduling an appointment:

This scenario is addressed on the frequent questions section of the VFS website. Persons who have purchased the HDFC receipt on the old passport and have a new passport prior to scheduling an appointment with the US consulate using the VFS online appointment system, then the applicant needs to contact the VFS to have the information updated on their system. Once this is done, the applicant will be able to schedule the appointment online using the new passport information on the originally purchased HDFC receipt.

Procedure if HDFC receipt and appointment is scheduled using old passport:

If an applicant purchased the HDFC receipt and scheduled an appointment using an old passport then the applicant should carry both the old and new passport and inform the officer at the pre-screening counter of the change in passport. Since this information was not available on the VFS website, we had this clarified by contacting the VFS by eMail.

Advisable to Carry New Form DS-160 with current passport information:

In this scenario, the form DS-160 submitted to the Consulate would not have information on the latest passport. We checked with the U.S. consulate, Chennai over phone and we were informed that it is advisable for the applicant(s) to complete a new form DS-160 with current passport information and carry the same for the interview and notify the officer at the pre-screening counter of the new form with updated information.

Conclusion:

It is best and convenient to make sure one has a passport valid for more than six months from the date of application or intended date of arrival in the U.S. prior to purchase of the HDFC receipt. If for some reason, one ends up in one of the situation described above, we trust information in this article will clarify on the procedure to be followed.

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