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Minor Issues Hinder Improvement of Visa Application System
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The new online visa application system in Chennai is taking time to go online, as there are a few software issues that need to be addressed. Once these glitches have been corrected, the system would become available to the visa hopefuls throughout India.
According to Nicholas Manning, Chief of Consular Services of the US Embassy at Chennai said, "Yes we are aware of the software problems. There is still no specific time frame for the complete resolution of the issues as this takes time." He made these reassurances in a guidance session on the business visa to the US in a forum sponsored by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.
When inquired upon as to the errors that the glitches make on the online visa applications, he advised that the visa applicant needs to inform the consular officers of the information discrepancies to the consular officer when they are interviewed for the visa.
The visa services of the US Embassy in India have been parceled to other consular offices. Immigrant visa applications are now being processed in Mumbai, as the Chennai office now has to handle an increased influx of other kinds of visa applications. Even the staff complement was increased and these changes have helped decrease the waiting time from two months to just seven days.
The consulate at Chennai posted the tenth largest visa applications volume amongst all centers, with a posted increase of 21 percent and the office received a total of 1.75 lakh just in 2011. The largest number was for L visa applications and these visas are issued to managers, professionals, executives and other individuals with specialized knowledge that are transferred within the company needing entry into the US.
Other changes to the visa programs are being undertaken by the Obama administration. One of the major sticking points is the need for illegal immigrants to return to country of origin in order to apply for and receive their visas under petition from a US citizen spouse or relative. This results in a blacklist order issued on the illegal immigrant leaving the US and making them ineligible for entry for at least three years. Oftentimes, the wait for this spouse or relative visa would stretch to ten years, leading to issues with the family and their future.
Now, when there is standing petition, the spouse would still need to return to the country of origin after issuance of a provisional waiver to ensure that the visa processing would be fast tracked to have the family united and legal in the country.
Bobby Castro is the online editor at the NRI community, where he has published a number of articles about NRI Indians living in America and many other topics.
Article submitted Tuesday, January 17, 2012 & read 2 times.
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