New US visa interview appointment system

APPLICANTS SEEKING visas to visit the United States will no longer join long queues to get interview appointments, but will use a telephone call-in service, the US Embassy announced yesterday.

Outlining the new measures at a press conference in Kingston, Consul General Nicholas Williams said effective immediately, the consular section will no longer make appointment dates.

Appointments have been scheduled up to September and no new dates will be given until the system comes into place.

"The new system will eliminate the lines and long waits for interviews," Mr. Williams promised.

Currently, long lines can be seen daily in front of the embassy as persons scramble to get interview dates, resulting in traffic congestion along Oxford Road and the growth of itinerant vendors.

The US embassy processed about 92,000 visitor's visas in 1998 and 127,000 in 1999.

THE NEW ARRANGEMENTS

UNDER THE new arrangements, applicants will pay US$45 application fee at a branch of Scotia Bank.

A receipt will be issued to the applicant, on which is displayed telephone numbers for Scotiabank-run scheduling offices. The Scotiabank office will verify payment of fee before giving an appointment date for the applicant to go into the embassy for an interview.

Mr. Williams said the system has been implemented in Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico and has worked well in those countries. "It is a win-win situation," he said.

Senior general manager of Scotia-bank, Bruce Bowen, said the bank is equipped to deal with the demands of the new service and would not lead to erosion in service to its customers.

The Embassy will announce the date of the new service soon. In the meantime, persons who face an emergency, would have their application for a visa accommodated, embassy officials said. The system will not affect the immigrant visa interview system. It will also not affect the procedures for renewing visas; scheduling appointments for student visas; and US-based employment contracts.