Changes for Visa Applicants in India
[a report from Murthy Immigration Services, Pvt. Ltd. in Chennai, India]
Posted Oct 20, 2006
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Goal of Eliminating Waiting Period Altogether
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David C. Mulford, the U.S. Ambassador to India, made an announcement at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, on October 5, 2006, stating that they have made a Mission-wide commitment to reducing the waiting times for visa appointments, with the goal of eliminating these waiting periods altogether; except, of course, if an individual prefers to make an appointment in advance to fit future plans. Mr. Mulford said that they are sensitive to the inconvenience caused by long wait times for appointments that have been characteristic of this visa processing system in recent months. He also stated that the Embassy and consulates want to do what they can to facilitate travel to the U.S. by Indians.
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In an effort to improve service to Indians seeking visas to the United States, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and the Consulates General in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata are opening new visa appointments in all categories, including tourist, to reduce the waiting time for people who currently have appointments. With these new changes, it is noteworthy that the wait times for several categories of visa appointments have reduced drastically; in many cases, to less than one month. It is our understanding, however, that regular visa interview dates in regional languages are still unavailable. As in the past, the availability of visa appointment dates is unpredictable. If there is an immediate need for travel, MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are encouraged to plan early and take advantage of the current availability of visa interview slots.
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Changes have been made to the online system through which visa applicants schedule appointments with the U.S. consulates and the U.S. Embassy in India for their nonimmigrant visa interviews. Following are descriptions of some of these changes.
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U.S. Consulate, Chennai
Moves Appointments from Oct 23 to Oct 27, 2006
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Citing unforeseen circumstances, the Consulate General in Chennai has moved visa appointments scheduled for October 23, 2006 to October 27, 2006. In this note, the Consulate has acknowledged regret for any inconvenience caused. This note also conveys that the Consulate will not be open for visa applicants on October 23, 2006.
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Applicants Should Be Able to Advance Visa Appointments
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In Ambassador Mulford's, aforementioned October 5, 2006 address at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, he observed that the relationship between the U.S. and India is at its best and that the movement of people between the countries has grown. While pointing out that the consulates had made arrangements for several thousand students to apply for their visas in time for classes, he also acknowledged that they were not yet able to reduce the wait times for visa interviews. He confirmed that they are working towards reducing the wait times and, in furtherance of this, with effect from October 5, 2006, visa applicants should be able to log on to <https://www.vfs-usa.co.in/Home.aspx> and advance their visa interview dates, subject to availability. The statement is available on the U.S. Embassy WebSite.
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This statement followed an earlier press release by the U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, on October 3, 2006.
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Upon the request of a client of Murthy Immigration Services, Pvt. Ltd. (MIS) in Chennai, we did try to advance the interview date and found the following instructions:

“You can reschedule your interview appointment only ONCE. If you wish to reschedule a second time, you will need to first cancel the existing appointment and then schedule a new appointment.   

"Note: Rescheduling option does not allow you to prepone your interview appointment unless rescheduling to a priority appointment. If you wish to schedule to an earlier date you will have to cancel the existing appointment and schedule a new appointment after reentering all the information again.

"If you wish to cancel your appointment, you can cancel a maximum of THRICE. After your third cancellation, your receipt will be deactivated for 90 calendar days. You will not be able to take a subsequent new appointment during that period.”

The above instructions clearly indicate that, unless one tries to advance an existing appointment on and emergency / priority basis, s/he will not be able to advance the dates without cancelling the existing appointment and obtaining the earlier date by completing the DS forms again. In doing this, one must remember that if, for any reason, the earlier date is taken before the DS forms are completed, the applicant ultimately loses the existing appointment, too.
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Changes to Prevent Misuse of
Nonimmigrant Visa Interview Appointment System
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If an applicant does not appear for the visa interview appointment, the HDFC visa fee receipt will be deactivated. The applicant will not be able to book another appointment. If s/he has a valid reason for not appearing for the appointment, a request can be made for the VFS to reactivate the Visa Fee Receipt. To make the request the applicant must go in person to the nearest VFS U.S. Visa Application Center, and should carry her/his passport and HDFC visa fee receipt. At the center, the applicant may request reactivation of the receipt, explaining why it was not possible to appear for the appointment and showing the passport and HDFC visa fee receipt. VFS then will decide whether to reactivate the receipt. If VFS does reactivate the receipt, the applicant will be able to book another appointment through VFS.
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The Embassy has acknowledged regret for any inconvenience to visa applicants caused by these changes. They have also confirmed that all other parts of the visa interview appointment system remain the same.
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Visa Interview Cancellations Relax as of Oct 9, 2006
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As explained above, a visa applicant wishes to cancel an appointment, s/he can cancel a maximum of THREE times. After the third cancellation, the receipt will be deactivated for 90 calendar days. Applicants will not be able to schedule a subsequent new appointment during this period.
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It should be noted that, previously, the visa appointment could be cancelled only a maximum of TWICE and, with the second cancellation, the receipt would be deactivated for 90 calendar days. Effectively, this means that only one cancellation was possible before. Under the new system, one may cancel and reschedule an interview date twice, which should benefit visa applicants using the VFS system.
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Note: There is discrepancy between information on the U.S. Embassy WebSite and that of the VFS. MIS called the VFS office in Chennai and they confirmed that theirs is up-to-date information.
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VFS Service Charges Revised from Oct 1, 2006
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There is yet another change to the VFS service charge. As of October 1, 2006, the services charges of VFS are as follows:

The latest fees are available on the Chennai Consular WebSite.
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We at Murthy Immigration Services, Pvt. Ltd., shall continue to monitor changes to the visa application system to inform MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers of the latest changes. Since the Consulate is constantly trying to improve the application procedures, we find frequent changes to this system and encourage visa applicants to visit the VFS WebSite and that of the appropriate U.S. consulate / Embassy for up-to-date information on the procedures and other formalities before applying for a U.S. visa.