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NEW DELHI - The United States Embassy
and the U.S. Consulate Generals in Chennai, Mumbai,
and Calcutta are ending the "drop box" facility
for submitting U.S. visa applications. This change in
the visa application process will affect only the limited
number of persons currently not required to appear in
person for a visa appointment.
The reason for ending the drop-box facility is that
beginning in July 2004, U.S. consular sections in India
will start collecting fingerprint impressions from all
visa applicants, except those traveling on official
government business or who are under age 14 or over
age 79.
At the time of the visa interview, applicants will
be asked to electronically scan the index (second) finger
of each hand. The scanned fingerprint data collected
at time of visa application will be compared with fingerprint
scans at the U.S. port of entry to prevent the use of
U.S. visas by imposters and by those wanted for more
serious offenses.
This is a worldwide program and has already been implemented
in more than 150 U.S. Consular sections around the world.
The U.S. visa offices in Frankfurt, Brussels, San Salvador,
and Guatemala were the first posts to begin this program
on September 22, 2003. This program is not targeted
at any country or region. All United States visa issuing
posts will be collecting fingerprint data by October
26, 2004, complementing the U.S.-VISIT program in which
nearly all visitors to the United States, including
those from countries eligible for the visa waiver program,
have their fingerprints and photograph taken at the
airport on arrival in the U.S.
The schedule for ending the drop-box facility is as
follows:
New Delhi: Last day to submit applications via drop-box
- June 30;
Chennai: Last day to submit applications via drop-box:
June 30;
Kolkata: Last day to submit applications via drop-box
- July 16;
Mumbai: Last day to submit applications via drop-box
- July 20;
Visa applicants must make an appointment for a visa
interview and fingerprint collection. In New Delhi,
Chennai and Calcutta, applicants should make appointments
on-line at www.ttsvisas.com, or by visiting the offices
of TT Services in Chennai, Bangalore, or Hyderabad if
applying from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, or
Tamil Nadu. Applicants from Maharastra, Gujarat, Goa,
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh may make appointments
on-line at www.visa-services.com or by visiting the
office of the Visa Facilitation Service (VFS) in Mumbai,
Ahmedabad, or Pune. Contact information and locations
for TT Services and VFS offices can be found on the
U.S. Embassy web-site.
The embassy reminds applicants that all posts in India
experience delays in the availability of appointments
during the spring and summer months, and this year is
no exception. The longest delays are in Chennai, due
to the higher volume of applications, but delays at
all posts are at least several weeks long. Applicants
from Chennai and Mumbai with urgent travel needs, who
have good English skills and have not previously been
refused a visa, may make appointments for visa interviews
in New Delhi or Calcutta by going on-line at the internet
address for TT Services given above. Should a sufficiently
quick appointment not be available on-line, each post
has procedures in place to handle genuine requests for
unanticipated urgent travel.
To avoid delays, visa applicants can take these steps:
* Plan ahead. If you need to travel between now and
September, don't wait until the last minute to apply
for an appointment. Make your appointment right away.
* If you are not planning to travel until after October,
please wait until later to book your appointment. Consular
officials anticipate that the wait for an appointment
will be reduced once the summer rush is over.
* Have your travel plans organized. On the application
form and at the interview, applicants must provide details
on when and where they will be traveling and where they
will be staying. Complete all application forms fully.
Application forms and further information on application
procedures are available through TT Services or Visa
Facilitation Services. Forms and general information
about the visa application process may also be downloaded
from the Embassy web site at http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov
or the Consulate General web sites at http://chennai.usconsulate.gov,
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov, or http://calcutta.usconsulate.gov
Finally, it is important to note that interest in travel
to the U.S. from India remains strong and indeed is
growing. Indians are now the largest group of foreigners
studying in the U.S., at nearly 75,000 students; and
while the overall foreign student population barely
grew, the number of Indians admitted into U.S. schools
grew by almost 12% in 2002-03. Further, in the last
three months, visa-issuing posts in India have seen
over a 20% increase in demand for visas compared with
the same period last year.
While, the United States Embassy and Consulates may
not be able to issue visas to all applicants, a great
many applicants are getting visas, and we will continue
to make every effort to assure prompt and courteous
service to the traveling public.
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