Process of acquiring a global visa to travel to USA

Get set for two appointments

Come September 26 and as per Washington's new visa processing system, applicants seeking a US visa will have to seek two appointments, one for biometric collection and the other for interview.

Applicants will have to seek separate appointments, either online or by phone, from the US embassy or Consulate as per the new system, Josh Glazeroff, Consul General of US Embassy in India said here today.

The biometric collection will be done at an Offsite Facilitation Centre (OFC) while the interview will be held at the US Embassy or consulate, Glazeroff said.

Once the finger prints are given, processing of visa application will be completed within 30-40 minutes the next day, he said, asserting that taking of finger-prints will be once in a lifetime process.

US visa payment now made online
The process of acquiring a global visa to travel to USA has turned online with the visa related queries now being addressed on the recently launched visa application website as well as on the Embassy’s Facebook page.

“Last year, the number of Indians visiting USA was 6,50,000 and the number is increasing, so we planned ahead and wanted to create a visa system on an electronic forum which is better and faster,” said the Consul General of US Embassy in India, Josh Glazeroff, who was in Chandigarh today to speak on the new system.

It is now possible to pay the visa fee online and for technical assistance, one could dial the call center or engage in an online chat at their portal. Josh says that this year the waiting time has been significantly reduced, with a maximum of ten days waiting for an appointment and that the consul section strives to relieve applicants within thirty minutes.