Starting September 14, 2014, the US embassy in Dhaka is going to make several changes to its visa application process with a view to make the system more ‘customer-friendly’. The visiting Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Michele Thoren Bond made this disclosure on Monday while announcing changes in the visa application system at a press briefing at American Center on Monday. US ambassador Dan Mozena was present at the briefing.Bond arrived in Dhaka on Saturday on a four-day visit to Bangladesh. The US assistant secretary also said that her country refused more than half of the applicants’ visa last year in Bangladesh. About 70,000 people applied last year and of them more than 30,000 were granted entry, she added.This new visa system, she said, will simplify interview appointment scheduling, fee collection, and visa pickup. Applicants will be able to apply for their visas through a new, customer-friendly website, www.USTravelDocs.com/bd.The new website, supported by a new call center, will make applying for visas easier by providing information in both Bangla and English in a single location. Previously, applicants would apply online but schedule appointments in person at Saimon Overseas. While Saimon will still be our partner in document collection and passport return, applicants will now book interview appointments through our new website. From now on, the applicants will be able to arrange both individual and group appointment bookings as well as obtain application instructions, important US embassy information, and answers to frequently-asked questions. The call center will enhance accessibility to information, enabling applicants to speak to a customer service representative in English or Bangla.It will also be more convenient for applicants to pay their visa fees. Once they have filled out their visa applications and scheduled their interviews, they can then pay their application fees at select HSBC locations in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Sylhet, Mymensingh, and Chittagong. They can pay in cash (in dollars or taka), and will receive a fee receipt valid for one year. The applicants will be able to pick up their passports from Chittagong and Sylhet, apart from Dhaka, she said, adding that obtaining an interview appointment for a US visa had never been easier through the process, but the standards for visa issuance remain the same.”Every individual applying for a US visa must convince a consular officer, at the time of interview, that they have substantial ties outside of the US that will ensure their return to Bangladesh.”About the refusal of visa, the US assistant secretary said that they refused those who were “not eligible for visa, so we cannot issue (them)”. Another factor, she mentioned, was that there were some people who kept trying despite refusal that added up the tally of refusal rate.She said more Bangladeshis than ever were applying for visas due to the country’s growing middle class and active expatriate community. With the increasing number of visa applicants, the visa issuance rate had also gone up, she added.Bond, however, said the US authorities remained committed to facilitating ‘legitimate travel’ to that country.Ambassador Dan Mozena said this year the US has granted visa to about 2,000 students, a figure similar to the number issued last year. It was 1,300 in 2012.He said half a million Bangladeshis are currently living in the United States of America.
