Applicants for a U.S. visa can pay their visa application fee through their mobile phone using the IMPS system.
Procedure
- Create a Profile
Follow steps 1 through 10, as mentioned in scheduling a USA visa appointment. - After that, on the “Payment Confirmation Screen”, click on the link “Click Here For All Payment Options“. A new window will open.
- Click on “IMPS” logo under the “Mobile” section.
- Print the instructions page. It has the beneficiary mobile number and MMID (which remains the same for all visa applicants), as well as the exact fee amount in Indian Rupees. MMID stands for Mobile Money Identifier and is a seven digit number.
Sample IMPS mobile payment instructions - Make sure that you are already registered with your bank to do the payment through your mobile phone and have a valid MPIN.
- There are many banks in India that provide this facility to make the payment through IMPS. Please visit the NPCI web site for the list of participating banks and their specific instructions to register mobile number, get the MPIN, and how to send money.
Different banks have different amount limits per transaction, and some of the banks may have additional charges for such a facility. Some banks even limit the payment to Rs. 5,000 per transaction, which is not enough to pay the U.S. visa fee for even one person. Most other banks allow to transfer up to Rs. 50,000 per day.
Different banks have different requirements for the exact mobile handset required with regards to model, make, or features. - Follow your bank’s specific instructions to send the money.
When asked for the beneficiary mobile number, MMID, and the amount, enter them from the instructions page you printed.
Make sure to pay the correct visa fee amount. - Once your payment has been verified, you will receive a SMS that will contain a 12-digit IMPS reference number. You need that number to schedule an appointment. If you’re looking for your MRV number, it is the last 10 digits of the IMPS reference number.
Alternate Procedure
As you can see from the above instructions, since the beneficiary mobile number and MMID is the same for everyone, as long as you are sure of the exact fee amount you have to pay, you don’t necessarily have to first complete the initial steps of creating your profile on the CGI website and go through the steps up to the payment confirmation screen before making the fee payment. You can make the fee payment first and then perform all the steps for scheduling an appointment, or do both the same time. The total number of steps you need to perform remains the same either way.
Scheduling an Appointment
Payment during regular business hours of 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM – Can schedule an appointment the next business day
Payment after 5 PM – Can schedule an appointment after 9 AM the second business day.
