No Show
-Sudhir Shah, Advocate, Mumbai

Many argue that the present system of paying visa processing fees in advance and thereafter obtaining a date for the visa interview online then submitting the application forms to VFS (Visa Facilitation Service) and then appearing at the American Consulate at the appointed hour and day for the visa interview is inconvenient. It restricts the applicants who have to travel to USA suddenly and have to wait for days together for their interview date. It also causes problem when at the appointed hour they are unable to attend the consulate for the personal visa interview. Those in favour of the present system argue that the current system eradicates the trouble of joining the que of the visa applicants outside the American Consulates from early morning hours or even from the previous night. There are always 2 sides of a coin and a system which is beneficial to majority is always considered a better one. The present system of obtaining a time and date for the visa interview in advance is certainly convenient for all the visa applicants. But what if on the appointed day and time the applicant is put into a situation due to which he is unable to attend the consulate to give personal interview. Does he run the risk of having his visa processing fees forfeited?

Applicants who fail to appear at their scheduled visa interviews at the American Embassy or Consulates are considered as “No Show Applicants”. Taking into consideration the hassles and hazards of modern day life and appreciating the fact that visa applicants travel from different parts of the state to the city where the embassy or consulate is situated and thus have to depend upon transport system which unfortunately is not that punctual as it ought to be and also the fact that, now a days it is almost impossible to obtain reservations for trains, buses and even plains unless they are made sufficiently well in advance. Besides that at any hour of the day there are traffic jams and one always falls short in once calculation of time for traveling. In the life of human beings many times unforeseen circumstances erupt such as an accident, sudden death of a near one sickness etc., and due to all this a visa applicant at times may not be in a position to appear for his visa interview at the appointed day and hour. These people should not face with the difficulty of having their visa processing fees forfeited and hence the US Government has on May 7th, 2007 issued a circular providing assistance to No Show Applicants.

If applicant for a USA Visa for one reason or another fails to appear at the schedule interview time and date and hence becomes a No Show Applicant they should be provided with the benefit of re-activating their HDFC Bank Receipt acknowledging the payment of visa processing fees which currently is US $ 131 equivalent to INR 5240. No Show Applicants are allowed after the expiry of 2 working days after their scheduled interview appointment dates and within the validity period of the HDFC Bank Fee Receipt which is one year from the date of receipt to schedule a fresh interview appointment date. The No Show Applicant has to visit any of the VFS application center alongwith their passport and valid original HDFC Band fee receipt. The should pay either in cash or by Demand Draft drawn in favour of “HDFC Bank A/c – VFS” Rs 155/- per applicant which is inclusive of 12 % service tax and .24% education cess. Thereafter they can use the same HDC Bank Fee Receipt to reschedule a new interview appointment. the additional service charge of Rs. 155 must be paid at VFS application center and cannot be paid at HDFC Bank. The appointment should be scheduled within the validity period from the date of the HDC Bank Fee Receipt date. If one applies for a date for interview within 1 years period but he interview cannot be scheduled within one year period then the same receipt may not be useful and fresh visa processing fees may be required to be paid. If there is a No Show at the Mumbai Consulate due to non submission of documents to VFS these applicants also may apply for re-activation of their fee receipt and re-scheduling of their interview.