Processing Improvements at U.S. Consulate in Chennai
Posted Feb 26, 2000

The Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) section of the U.S. Consulate at Chennai, India, has informed The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. of three recent initiatives to streamline processing for certain types of non-immigrant visa (NIV) applications. One of those programs, the system to send passports back via courier so that applicants do not have to return in person to pick up their visas, was announced previously in the February 17, 2000 MurthyBulletin. We are pleased to share the information on the other two programs below.

For the first time in the Chennai consulate's history, beginning Tuesday, February 22, 2000, Chennai is allowing all first-time applicants for H-4, L-2, F-2 and J-2 dependent visas to use the drop box. The Consulate estimates that this procedure will eliminate the need for interviews for as many as 18,000 applicants per year.

Chennai is also introducing a pilot program to waive interviews for certain H1B applicants. When they receive approved petitions from the INS, the Consulate will "pre-approve" the beneficiaries for visa issuance if the following two conditions are met:

• the degree(s) of the H1B visa applicant can be verified by the Consulate's on-line system;
• and there are no indications of fraud.

The Consulate will then post the petition numbers (i.e. the "EAC," "LIN," "SRC," or "WAC" numbers INS assigns) for the pre-approved cases on their website, and the beneficiaries will then submit their visa applications via the drop box.

More information is due to be posted on the Chennai Consulate website <www.sphynx.com/madrasus>. Check their website for details.

Chennai's NIV Chief commented to one of our attorneys, "We really hope that all three of the measures above will increase customer service and improve our processing efficiency while maintaining anti-fraud efforts." No other immigration law office is able to provide such cutting-edge updated legal information on any consulate for the benefit of clients and the immigrant community in general. We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. are pleased to have the opportunity to share this information with you, and, as always, we will continue to post updates on procedures at this major NIV post, which issues almost half of all H1B visas worldwide!