US Embassy announces new visa requirement
Thursday, February 2, 2006
As of 1 February, all citizens and residents of the Cayman
Islands will be required to schedule appointments for the non-immigrant visa (NIV)
interview in advance of their arrival at the US Embassy in Kingston.
This new policy affects Cayman Islands citizens and
residents who are applying for all types of NIV visas, including those seeking
to renew their visas. Every effort will be made to return visas to successful
Cayman Islands applicants by 2:00 pm the same day of the interview.
NIV interviews are scheduled Monday through Friday, from
7:30 am to 11:30 am, except for holidays. Applicants can schedule interviews
directly on-line at the Embassy appointment-booking page,
http://210.177.22.41/kingston.
A visa application fee of US $100 must be paid for the NIV
interview either at the US Embassy on the day of the scheduled interview, or
through Paymaster branches located in Jamaica.
Applicants coming from the Cayman Islands are strongly
encouraged to fill out electronic versions of visa forms on-line at
http://evisaforms.state.gov/ and
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html.
Applicants who complete forms electronically will be
offered earlier appointment dates and experience expedited processing times on
the day of their interviews. All applicants must fill out and sign forms DS-156
and DS-157, and student visa and exchange visa applicants also must fill out
form DS-158 in addition to the DS-156 and DS-157 forms.
Please refer to the Embassy’s website,
http://kingston.usembassy.gov, under the “Visas to the US – Non-Immigrant
Visas” section for information on additional documentation that must be provided
with application forms during the visa interview.
In the event of genuine emergencies, walk-in applicants
from the Cayman Islands will be accepted without having to make an appointment.
Please refer to the Embassy website for emergency guidelines and emergency
window hours of operation.
The US Embassy is confident that this new procedure will
better accommodate applicants having to make the trip from the Cayman Islands
and will enable the consular section to continue its commitment of providing
high quality services to the public.
For more information, contact the US Embassy during normal
business hours at 929-4850 to 9, or visit the Embassy’s website at
http://kingston.usembassy.gov.
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