Drop Box Service for U.S. Visas Discontinued; Fingerprint Collection to Begin

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. Applicants who are required to be fingerprinted who have a cut or blister or other temporary skin injury on their index fingers may not be issued a visa until their finger heals before they can be fingerprinted. 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.