2006 Press Releases

Electronic Application Forms Required for U.S. Non-Immigrant (Tourist and Student) Visas - September 1, 2006

The United States Department of State announced that beginning November 1, 2006, all applications for non-immigrant visas (NIV) must be submitted on Electronic Visa Application Forms (called EVAFs) in order to be accepted by the Consular Unit of any U.S. Embassy.  Therefore, as of November 1 hand-written applications will no longer be accepted.  This is a global initiative and will be enforced by all Consular Affairs Offices at all U.S. Embassies throughout the world.

Applicants wishing to apply for Tourist (B1/B2), Business (B1), Student (F1), Fiancé (K1), Education and Training (J1), Worker (H1, H2), Religious (R1) as well as other non-immigrant and government-related visas must submit their applications on an EVAF in order to be considered for an interview.

An EVAF may be accessed at http://EVISAFORMS.STATE.GOV and instructions on how to fill out the application are included at the site.  Each applicant is responsible for accessing, filling out and turning in a completed application.  Applications will be rejected if not filled out correctly or completely using the EVAF.  Hand-written applications will no longer be accepted after November 1.

This process has already been required by many Consular Offices throughout the world, and as of August 1, 2006, close to 51 percent of all NIV applications were submitted on an EVAF. The U.S. State Department has implemented this requirement on a sequential basis, using cities as remote as Tashkent, Uzbekistan and as populated as New Delhi, India as pilot programs and have shown the EVAF process to be more effective in data collection and time management for both the applicant and the Consular processes.

The U.S. Embassy in Belize strongly recommends that applicants access the website mentioned above and begin using the EVAF immediately in order to begin a seamless transition.

-END-