Regular subscribers of the MurthyIndiaBulletin and readers of MurthyIndia.com are aware that the U.S. Visa application process has been continuously streamlined to make the application process simpler. In yet another effort to make interview dates available immediately, the U.S. Ambassador to India Mr. Timothy J. Roemer on November 18, 2010 announced that the U.S. Embassy…

An update on the VFS website indicates that with effect from November 20, 2010 the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and the U.S. Consulates in Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Calcutta would collect an additional fee of US$ 2,000 for certain H1-B and $ 2,500 for L1-A and L1-B petitions which are covered by the provisions…

A recent update on Chennai consular website indicates that new courier delivery service is available for U.S. passports through VFS courier services. Henceforth all American Citizens opting for courier delivery should obtain a demand draft in favor of “VFS Global Services Pvt. Ltd” for INR 166 per passport. S/he should carry the demand draft along with a…

This update is for Blanket L visas. Applicants who received L1 visa stamping after May 2010 based on approved blanket L petition, should ensure that his/her visa stamping has the proper annotation “Blanket L-1” for the principal beneficiary and “Blanket L-2” for any derivative spouse or child. Moreover the annotation should state the name of…

Readers and visitors of muthyindia.com should be aware of the earlier update on October 5, 2010 where demand drafts for VFS service charge should be made in favor of “VFS Global Service Pvt. Ltd” instead of “HDFC Bank a/c VFS”. With effect from October 7, 2010, VFS has reverted back to its earlier stance that…

The new form DS160 was introduced earlier in 2010. Since its introduction, many non-immigrant visa applicants have been complaining of the session expiring and having to refill the application. In our earlier article, we had advised applications to save the file at each stage so that s/he can retrieve the application and continue from where…

Non-immigrant visa applicants with interview date at Chennai, falling on November 17 or November 18, 2010 have received an eMail from VFS stating that they will either be contacted by VFS to reschedule and the interview to a later date, failing which the applicants will have to do this on their own. The text of…

A notification on the official website of the U.S. Embassy, New Delhi indicates that with effect from October 1, 2010; the Embassy will provide improved, comprehensive and multi-lingual customer service through VFS’s New Calling center. The new facility will provide increased hours for queries which will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from…

With effect from November 1, 2010, the consular exchange rate is revised to INR 46 to a US$ from the existing INR 47 to a US$. Consequentially, all the non-immigrant and immigrant visa application fee will have be paid at the current consular exchange rate. The fee for a non-petition based non-immigrant visa like B,…

Please note that with effect from October 5, 2010, the demand draft towards VFS Service Charge should be made in favor of “VFS Global Service Pvt. Ltd.” instead of “HDFC Bank a/c VFS”. Previously the demand draft used to be in favor of “HDFC Bank a/c VFS”. It is understood that demand drafts for the…