Paymaster to Collect US Non-Immigrant Visa Fees

Persons wishing to obtain non-immigrant United States (US) visas will soon enjoy the convenience of paying the required fees at any of the 130 Paymaster locations islandwide. This arrangement will become effective on Saturday, November 15 when the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) will cease to provide the service on behalf of the US Embassy.
Applicants are required to pay the equivalent of US$100 or $6,000 at the payment agency, upon which they will be given a two-part receipt that bears a unique number to take to the Embassy. Receipts purchased at BNS prior to November 15 would remain valid up to one year after the purchase date. After paying their visa fees, applicants would then need to go on the Internet at http://usembassy.state.gov/kingston/ and schedule an appointment with the Embassy.
Persons who do not have access to the Internet may telephone Paymaster’s call centre for assistance in scheduling an appointment via the Internet.
Applicants should note the scheduled time on their receipts and take this along with them to their appointments. They should also submit a valid passport.
“Paymaster Jamaica Limited competitively earned the contract to be the US Embassy’s new fee receipt provider. The Embassy is interested in utilizing the most advantageous technology available to assist with the visa application process. Scheduling visa interview appointments through the Internet allows consular staff and visa applicants maximum planning flexibility. Applicants will now be able to choose their preferred appointment time, rather than having it assigned to them,” said Scott Oudkirk, Consul at the US Embassy in Kingston.
Speaking at the weekly JIS Think Tank session on Wednesday (Oct. 29), Chief Operations Officer at Paymaster Jamaica Limited, Cynthia Mullings said that the agency had trained its staff to provide the service. She added that Paymaster would also issue visa application forms and brief applicants on the requirements for interviews with the US Embassy.
She assured that the new scheduling process was easy and that appointments were determined by the applicants’ preference and the number of available appointment dates.
Sixty of Paymaster’s 130 offices operate out of post offices allowing the company to have a more extensive reach into rural districts of all the parishes than currently exists with the BNS. Miss Mullings said that Paymaster was hoping to extend its service to 150 post offices by year-end.
She added that this latest initiative was an extension of the company’s objective to partner with public agencies on projects and programmes such as Highway 2000 and the Self Start Fund “to provide convenience and promote efficiency in our country”.