RIYADH, 28 May — The US Embassy has launched its express service for non-immigrant visas by authorizing 10 travel agents and courier services Kingdomwide to handle the applications.
Announcing the move at a press conference here yesterday, Consul General Thomas P. Furey said the launch of the US Visa Express was dictated by the need for easing pressure on the consular staff in Jeddah and Riyadh. “There had been long lines of visa applicants creating a terrible situation for the staff,” he said.
Furey said the consular staff was dealing annually with 90,000 visa applicants — 55,000 were in Riyadh and the rest in Jeddah. He said under the new regulations, Saudis and qualified non-Saudis could go through the 10 designated companies and get their visas endorsed within 48 hours. Only first-time non-Saudis, domestic servants and those whose applications were rejected earlier will be required to contact the embassy directly.
Asked about the criteria for evaluating new NIV applicants, Furey said they will have to convince the embassy that they have strong reasons for returning to their country of origin or residence. Details of the new service have been posted on the embassy website.
The travel and courier companies were selected on the basis of their infrastructure facilities, geographical spread and quality of service. “Many companies had submitted bids, but only those meeting our criteria were selected in the final analysis,” Furey said, adding that their staff was put through a training program.
They can provide the service either free of charge or for a small fee which should not exceed SR50 in Riyadh and Jeddah, and SR90 elsewhere.
Musarrat Hussain, general manager of Minhal Travel Services, one of the designated travel agents, said application forms for the visas could be obtained through their agency at Minhal Holiday Inn, Old Airport Road.
