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US rolls out new visa application form in VN

As of April 16, 2010, the US Embassy in Hanoi and the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City will require all non-immigrant visa applicants to complete a new, electronic, web-based form.
As of April 16, 2010, the US Embassy inHanoi and the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City will require allnon-immigrant visa applicants to complete a new, electronic, web-basedform.

At a press briefing in Hanoi on March 31, a US Embassy officialsaid the DS-160 Non-immigrant Visa Electronic Application will replacethe DS-156 application and the supplementary DS-157 and DS-158application forms that are required of certain visa applicants.

The old DS-156 will no longer be available for use online as of April16. Any DS-156 forms created prior to that date will still be acceptedafter April 16.

The new DS-160 form assists in accurately collecting the requiredinformation the first time, said the official, explaining that becausethe form is web-based, it can be revised and improved as necessary.

In addition, in the future, applications will be pre-processed andpre-screened before the applicant's interview, reducing processingdelays, the official added.

These changes are part of the US ’s effort to streamline the visaprocess. More than 70 US embassies and consulates worldwide havealready switched to the DS-160 form./.
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