The American Consulate General in Chennai has announced the commencement of a pilot project we will be starting in Chennai for Blanket L visa applicants. Starting 11 March 2013, U.S. Consulate Chennai will offer single day appointment scheduling for Blanket L visa applicants. The details of the program are as follows:

» The program is only available in Chennai for Blanket L visa applicants and their families traveling with them on L visas.

» The program will allow the scheduling of the offsite facility (OFC) and visa interview appointments on a single day. OFC appointments will be in the morning from 08:00. Visa appointments will be available from 10:00 on the same day. Applicants will not be able to schedule both appointments closer than two hours to allow adequate time for them to get from the OFC to the Consulate entrance.

» A total of 5,000 appointment slots will be available during the pilot period. We have encouraged companies which use Blanket L visas to have their employees apply early before these slots are filled. At this point, we do not know if the pilot program will be extended; we will be working with our OFC partner to evaluate the program as it progresses.

» To apply for single day appointments, applicants and companies will still use the normal website at www.ustraveldocs.com/in. In order to schedule both appointments on the same day, you must select a visa interview appointment for 10:00 am or later. This will allow selection of an OFC appointment two hours prior to the interview. If you select an interview appointment before 10:00, the online system will force you to select another day.

The US Mission in india is excited to be doing this for businesses in India. This program is another way in which the US Mission seeks to provide better customer service and promote legitimate business travel to the United States.