What you need to know about the new US visa services system, effective from July 15

US to ease visas for skilled Indian workers as PM Modi visits

Effective July 15, 2023, the United States (US) is moving to a new system for its visa services. To ensure that your appointment and payment information move seamlessly to the new system, remember these:

· Ensure that all the data entered in your profile is complete and correct. If you need to correct any of the information, do it at the earliest.

· If you plan to pay a visa application fee in the near future, do so before July 10, 2023, as payment services will be unavailable from July 11-14 and services will resume on July 15, 2023.

· If you have paid your visa fee but not associated it to your profile, ensure you log in to your profile and associate your payment by entering the payment receipt number into the profile.

· If you are a travel coordinator, group coordinator, or family, and you added dependent visa applicants to primary applicant profiles, ensure that each dependent/applicant has a unique email address. This may mean changing the email address you currently have listed for them.

Visa fee increase

Effective June 17, 2023, the application fee for visitor and certain other non-immigrant visa categories will increase from $160 to $185. Similarly, the application fee for certain petition-based non-immigrant visas (NIV) for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from $190 to $205. Applicants who paid for their visa application before June 17, 2023, will not be charged any additional fees.

The fees for most non-petition based NIVs were last updated in 2012, and certain other NIV fees were last updated in 2014.

Visa fee validity

All non-immigrant visa application fee (also known as the MRV fee) payments made on or after October 1, 2022, are valid for 365 days from the date a receipt is issued for payment of the MRV fee.  Applicants must schedule an in-person or interview waiver appointment during this 365-day period. Applicants must only schedule their in-person or interview waiver appointment within the 365-day period.  There is no requirement the interview or visa application centres (VAC) appointment must occur during the 365-day period. All receipts for payment of MRV fees issued before October 1, 2022, have been extended until September 30, 2023, and remain valid until this date.

Interview waiver

Applicants renewing any visa in the same category within 48 months of expiration are eligible for interview waiver. The Department of State (DOS) has also authorized consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for travellers applying for F, H-1, H-3, H-4, non-blanket L, M, O, P, Q, and academic J visas who were previously issued any type of visa, if they are applying for a visa in their country of nationality or residence. This authorization does not apply to applicants who have a previous refusal that was not subsequently waived or overcome. Adjudicating consular officers may request an in-person interview if additional information is required from applicants.

Applicants applying through the interview waiver process should allow up to three weeks from the time a passport has been accepted at the VAC until the passport is delivered or they are notified that the passport is ready for pickup. During this period, you cannot withdraw the passport or expedite the processing under any circumstances.

How to Request an Expedited Appointment

Applicants can request an expedited appointment online at www.ustraveldocs.com.

The applicant must already have a confirmed interview appointment date in order to request an expedited appointment. If the expedited appointment request is approved, the applicant will be notified with instructions via email. Do not cancel the existing appointment unless you receive a confirmation that your request for an expedited appointment has been approved. If you have not yet received an approval or denial, assume that your request is still under consideration.

Eligibility for Expedited Appointment

Before applying for an expedited appointment, you must ensure that you have documentary evidence to prove the urgency. If it appears during your visa interview that you misrepresented the reasons for urgent travel, such facts will be noted on your case file and may adversely influence the outcome of your visa application. Any applicant requesting an expedited appointment is required to first pay the visa fees for a regular visa appointment.

Expedited appointment slots are very limited and due to the high volume of requests, the US consulates/embassies cannot accommodate all travellers prior to their planned travel dates, even if the purpose of travel is time-sensitive.

Vaccination Certificate no longer Required for Travel

Noncitizen non-immigrant air passengers will no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine to board a flight to the United States.

Mission India has Visa Navigators for Questions

If you have questions or concerns about the U.S. visa process, go to Mission India’s Visa Navigator, an interactive tool to help navigate the visa process and get all the necessary information.

These are the location-specific visa navigators’ links:

U.S. Embassy New Delhi: https://tinyurl.com/NewDelhiVisasNav

U.S. Consulate General Mumbai: https://tinyurl.com/MumbaiVisasNav

U.S. Consulate General Chennai: https://tinyurl.com/ChennaiVisasNav

U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad: https://tinyurl.com/HyderabadVisasNav

U.S. Consulate General Kolkata: https://tinyurl.com/KolkataVisasNav