US Embassy & Consulates in India extend MRV fee validity

As per the official update by the US Embassy & Consulates in India, the validity of the payment for the US visa application fee – referred to as the Machine Readable Visa [MRV] fee – will be extended until December 31, 2021.

This extension has been done by the US Department of State in order to “allow all applicants who were unable to schedule a visa appointment as a result of the suspension of routine consular operations an opportunity to schedule and/or attend a visa appointment with the already paid fee”.

The announcement comes as a relief to US visa applicants that though having paid their US visa application fee were still awaiting the scheduling of their visa appointment.

As per the official announcement, the applicants themselves are not required to take any further action for extending the validity of the fees already paid by them.

By ‘MRV fee’ is implied a Machine Readable Visa fee, to be paid at the time of applying for any of the visas granted by the US government.

Non-refundable and non-transferable, while fixed in US dollars the MRV fee is to be paid as per the existing exchange rate in the local currency at the time of submitting the application for a US visa.

As of now, the consular sections remain closed for the routine US non-immigrant visa services. While the US Embassy & Consulates will be resuming “routine services as soon as possible”, no specific date has been provided for the same.

Those with an urgent need to travel to the US might be able to request for an emergency appointment, also referred to as an “expedited appointment”.

To be able to avail the facility, the applicant must have an unforeseen requirement of travelling to the US as per any of the eligible criteria. Such individual might qualify for an expedited appointment, depending on the availability at the specific Consulate or Embassy.

Situations wherein requests for expedited appointment can be made at the US Embassy & Consulates include –

Medial needs	Obtaining urgent medical care in the US, or for accompanying an employer or relative for urgent medical care.
Funeral / Death	Attending either the funeral of or for making arrangements for bringing back the body of an immediate family member – father, mother, brother, sister, or child – from the US.
Students or exchange visitors	For resuming a valid program of study in the US within 60 days in situations where no regular visa appointments are there. Limited only for those within 60 days of start date.
Urgent business travel	For attending an urgent and unforeseen business matter in the US.

Medical needs Funeral/Death Urgent business travel Students or exchange visitors Note. – 1. Documentary evidence for proving the emergency will be required. 2. Only 1 expedited appointment request allowed per applicant. US Embassy & Consulates in India are accepting certain visa applications. As per an official notification by the US Embassy and Consulates in India, the US consular sections throughout India are “now accepting drop box applications for F, M, and J visa renewals and H and L visa renewals who qualify for an exception to the Proclamations”. If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to the USA, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company. If you found this blog engaging, you may also like… USCIS revises fees, effective from October 2