In our November 2017 issue of MurthyIndiaBulletin, we reported that all hand-written travel documents will become invalid from October 2018 as per the guidelines of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This can be found here. Presently handwritten Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards cannot be used for travel as they are invalid according to the…

This Article is published for the benefit of foreign Nationals staying in India on a residential permit or visa. Any foreign national who is in India on a valid visa and requiring an extension, should submit an application to extend the residential permit / visa at least 60 days prior to the date of expiration…

Effective November 25, 2018, the new address of the Visa Application Center (VAC) in Mumbai is: Parinee Crescenzo, 101 1st Floor, A Wing G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex Bandra East, Mumbai – 400051 If an applicant has selected the document delivery location as Mumbai VAC (prior to November 25, 2018), they still need to collect…

Our regular readers are aware that all Blanket L visa have been adjudicated only at the U.S. Consulate, Chennai since December 1, 2011. We intend to clarify that blanket L visa applicants must pay fees associated with petition at the cashier window on the date of visa interview. This is in addition to the consular visa fee…

Effective September 17, 2018, the consular exchange rate has been revised to ₹74 to one US$. This revision in exchange rate will affect the Indian rupee equivalent for all application fees paid on or after September 17, 2018. The revision is applicable across all nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applications, and U.S. Citizenship services. Effectively, the…

Our regular readers are aware of the merger of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, effective January 9, 2015. This information can be found here. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will accept only machine readable travel documents beginning October 1, 2018. All PIO card holders must obtain a machine…

On August 23, we reported that applicants at the U.S. Consulate, Chennai had to wait longer for non-immigrant visa interviews scheduled between August 23 and August 31, 2018. This delay was on account of temporary facility based issues at the U.S. Consulate in Chennai. Applicants who had their interviews during these days were given an option…

Effective August 27, 2018, the consular exchange rate has been revised to ₹72 to one US$. This revision in exchange rate will affect the Indian rupee equivalent for all application fees paid on or after August 27, 2018. The revision is applicable across all non-immigrant and immigrant visa applications, and American Citizenship services. Effectively, the…

A recent update on the official information website of the U.S. missions in India indicates that there may be a longer wait on day of interview for non-immigrant U.S. visa applicants. This delay is on account of temporary facilities issues at the U.S. Consulate in Chennai. This alert urges applicants scheduled for a visa interview…

On account of flooding in Kochi, the Document Collection Center at Kochi will only offer colletion of passport(s). The center will not accept documents until further notice. This update can be found here.