A very recent change on VFS website indicates availability of waiver of visa interview for certain non-immigrant visa applicants. As of this writing, other than a reference to this on the VFS website’s home page; there is no formal update or news flash either on the VFS or consular website. Following this, one of the…

There are some items that are not permitted into the U.S. Embassy / Consulates. It is important for visa applicants to know this and avoid carrying such items to the Consulate for their visa interview. They do not provide a cloakroom to store these items. We may have to rely on hawkers to store expensive…

Introduction The first step towards applying for a non-immigrant visa interview in India is to pay the applicable U.S. visa application fee and the VFS courier fee at one of the designated HDFC Banks located across metros and major cities in India and obtain the receipt with a bar code as evidence of payment of…

The year 2011 saw many changes in the visa process in India and worldwide. We are summarizing some of the significant changes in India for the benefit of our readers. Looking back at the immigration issues faced by Indian Nationals, especially workers on H1-B jobs, we urge H1-B workers who are employed in consulting firms to…

We at Murthy Immigration Services Private Limited (MISPL) are occasionally contacted by US Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have either lost or have their green card stolen or damaged while traveling abroad. In this article, we look at the procedure to be followed by the LPRs in this situation. In our May 6, 2011 news…

While most subscribers of MurthyIndiaBulletin and visitors to MurthyIndiaDotCom are interested in knowing the application process to obtain a U.S. visas; we are also contacted by persons who have lost their passport containing U.S. visa(s). In this article, we look at the procedure to be followed in the unlikely event of loss of a passport…

As many nonimmigrant visa applicants may already be aware, new visa application form DS-160 was introduced in January 2010 replacing the earlier Form DS-156; DS-157 and DS-158. We had reported this on January 8, 2010. Since its introduction, the process to complete the Form DS-160 has been constantly streamlined. However, in the last week of…

Often we are contacted by H1-B petitioner(s) and/or H1-B visa applicants / beneficiaries with the H1-B petition being sent back to the USCIS for possible revocation. In this article we explore the options available to the petitioner / beneficiary under this circumstance and precautions to avoid this situation. General Procedure: When one applies for his…

Often we are contacted by H1-B petitioner(s) and/or H1-B visa applicants / beneficiaries with the H1-B petition being sent back to the USCIS for possible revocation. In this article we explore the options available to the petitioner / beneficiary under this circumstance and precautions to avoid this situation. General Procedure: When one applies for his…

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…