Visa applicants must be thorough with details to avoid unnecessary suspicion: US Consul

Mangalore, November 7: Applicants must be thorough with the details and contents of their visa application or else, there are chances of them missing out during the interview at Consulate leading to unnecessary suspicions and delay of processing, said Nicholas J Manring, Chief of the Consular Services, American Consulate, Chennai.

Making a presentation on US Visas at the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Mangalore on Wednesday, Mr. Manring said that normal interview duration of the applicants at the Interview Counter of the US Consulate in Chennai lasts 2-5 minutes where basic queries on the aspired visit are asked.

“We basically ask the purpose of the visit, which part of the United States is the applicant aspiring to travel, the duration for which he/she would be staying there and the purpose of the visit. If required, the applicants may have to produce necessary documents but generally since our officers have to complete about 100 interviews a day, we finish it off soon. However, it is necessary that the applicants are thorough with the contents of their visa application and the duration, place of visit, purpose of visit etc and give correct queries during the interview. If they don't, it leaves a big question mark in the minds of our officers with regard to the genuineness of the application and if the applicant is up to something else”, he said.

Mr. Manring also said that in general, language is not an issue during the interview. However, in case of student visas, certain US universities do lay down guidelines that the applicant must have considerable amount of fluency in English so that only those students are given a visa who can actually cope with the English and atmosphere of their classrooms, he said.

Explaining the different types of visas, Mr. Manring said that B1 visas are given for short term business purposes while B2 visas are short term tourist visas. H1B, L1A and L1B visa categories are common visa categories for Indian nationals to work legally in the US, he said. The 'L' visa category is for intra company transfer, he said, wherein a multinational company like Intel, having its branches both in the US and India can transfer their staff from here to there. The H1B visa is for work in a specialized occupation and which requires a university degree in a specific speciality for entry into occupation. With this visa, the applicant can work up to six years in the US, he said.

New changes in visa processing have come about with the Global Support System (GSS), he said, informing that now the applicants can create a user account with a website (www.ustraveldocs.com/in), fill in the application form, pay visa application fees via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) or mobile phones or in cash at 1,800 Axis Bank branches. The aplicants can schedule two separate appointments online or by phone – one for biometrics collection (fingerprints etc) at an Offsite Facilitation Centre (OFC) and another for a visa interview at the US Embassy or Consulate.

On the demand to set up a US consulate in Bangalore for the benefit of the people of Karnataka, Mr. Manring said that 50% of the applications coming to Chennai consulate are from Karnataka, most of them being from Bangalore. But a decision with regard to setting up a consulate in Bangalore lies with authorities in Washington DC and is also an expensive process. The proposal may be taken up in the future but is not being considered at the moment, he said.