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'US visas to Indians on the rise'

Fakir Chand in Bangalore

Putting aside the post-September 11 travel phobia, Indians have resumed visiting the United States in a big way during the last six months as indicated by the quantum jump in the number of visa applications received by the US consulate in Chennai.

Though there was a drop of 25-30 per cent in the number of visa applications post September 11 till December 2001, the scene has undergone a dramatic change with students, business travellers, and IT professionals applying for different types of US visas in large numbers during the last two quarters.

Disclosing this to the captains of industry and business representatives at an interactive session, organised by the Greater Mysore Chambers of Industry in Bangalore on Saturday, chief of consular services at the US consulate in Chennai Clyde L Jones dispelled fears that there had been drastic change in the US procedures for issuing visas to Indians.

"Nothing has changed much in so far as procedures for processing visas to Indian applicants are concerned post September 11, except that an additional form had been introduced for supplementary disclosures.

"At the same time, Jones cautioned Indians visiting the US to be prepared for any type of interrogation by the Immigration Natural Service personnel at the port of entry.

"They should be prepared well to reply to any query by the INS officials when they land at any US airport with documentary support to justify their purpose of visit or trip to the US," Jones declared.

In spite of the downturn in the US economy and September 11 terror attacks, the US consulate in Chennai issued a record number of 185,000 visas to Indians hailing from the four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala.

"The number of visas issued (185,000) by the Chennai US consulate is the highest not only among the consulates and US embassy operating in India, but also in the entire South Asia," Jones claimed.

Stating that the number of visa applications, especially from the business community had been gathering momentum and was increasing by the month, Jones said the growth had been 2-3 per cent during the first six months of 2002 over the corresponding figures of the January-June period of the previous year.

"About 80 per cent of the visa applications are cleared once they pass the muster. Though applications are processed in greater detail in conformity with the latest procedures taking longer time for granting visas, the rejection rate is about 20 per cent as enforcement of rules have become stricter," Jones asserted.

Recalling his five-year stint at the US consulate in Chennai, the outgoing chief of consular services said during his tenure, the number of visas issued had gone up by nearly four fold from a low of 48,000 visas in 1996 to 185,000 at the end of 2001, registering a record of sorts among all the US consulates and embassies in South Asia.

"Going by the increasing number of visa applications we are receiving over the last couple of weeks, we expect a growth of 15 per cent by this September compared to the corresponding period last year," Jones hinted, adding that by this calendar year, the number could exceed that of last year and touch around 200,000.

Referring to the gradual easing of tensions between India and Pakistan over the last one-month, Jones said the US State Department had modified its last travel advisory to Americans in the sub-continent.

"The renewed travel advisory issued in the last week of May is meant to be in force till October 1 this year. The recent modifications give us hope that it may be further relaxed," Jones affirmed but declined to give any time-frame for the complete withdrawal of the advice as it was a state policy and has to be decided by the Bush Administration.

Interestingly, Jones also disclosed that post-September 11, there were no deportation of Indians who were issued US visas from the Chennai consulate over the years, barring two students from Hyderabad, who were deported for staying beyond the expiry of their visas after they were detected by the INS authorities.

Allaying fears over getting visas for traveling to the US in the post-September 11 scenario, Jones said genuine applicants, be they students, businessmen, professionals, IT experts, parents, tourists, or dependents, would not be turned away provided their documentary support was transparent and the purpose of visit was clear.

As a piece of advice, the outgoing distinguished counselor cautioned prospective students dreaming to make it to the US for higher studies or jobs to be wary of fake facilitators, travel vendors, and other imposters as detection of fraud or forgery of documents would disqualify them for ever from securing a US visa from anywhere in the world.

"The latest data bases and online information access system of the US consulates/embassies as well as of the INS authorities across the US will be able to detect or track the status of non-immigrants and immigrants at a click of the mouse," Jones affirmed.

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