New York calling

New Delhi, Sept. 20: The US has changed visa rules for India, making it mandatory for applicants to pay $100 as application fee before seeking an appointment for interview.

Earlier, the fee had to be paid only after the applicant was granted the appointment.

The change is aimed at cutting out non-serious applicants from the queue. US embassy officials said the new policy is “expected to decrease” the waiting time for visa applicants. It would encourage only those “who will actually appear for an interview after seeking an appointment”.

However, the application fee of Rs 4,400 (equivalent to $100) will continue to remain “non-refundable and non-transferable”.

The changes in the rules were announced by the US embassy in Delhi and its consulates in Calcutta, Mumbai and Chennai.

Also the visa paperwork that includes providing applicants with information, appointments and courier services will now be done by VFS Private Ltd. It was earlier handled by another Indian company called TTS.

From October 3, VFS will become the “sole provider” of visa services to all applicants for US visas. As many applicants have already gone through TTS, the US administration will allow the backlog to be cleared by this month.

US officials said the cost for visa-related services in India will be now be only Rs 276 and not Rs 441. This will include on-line or phone-in-information services, assistance for making appointments and return of passports with the visas by courier.

The US administration has also got into an arrangement with the HDFC Bank to accept visa application fees. But the fees will be accepted only in designated branches of the bank in the four metros.

A number of new centres at Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Vijaywada and Kochi will also be opened from early next month to receive visa applications.