Member companies of FOSMA & MASSA have been facing huge challenges in carrying out crew changes due to the abnormal delays in the issuance of US C1/D Visas – both new ones and renewals.

With the objective of placing their concerns before the Consular authority, a joint team from FOSMA & MASSA visited the US Consulate in Mumbai on Aug 10^th.

The visiting team included Capt. Rajesh Tandon, Capt. Shiv Halbe, Capt. Mahendra Bhasin & Mr. Rustom Cassinath. They met Mr Michael Thoman, Country Head, Fraud Prevention, along with his team, to discuss this matter and seek assistance in gaining respite from this situation.

Thoman acknowledged that during the COVID pandemic the visa section was understaffed and thus suffered from a severe backlog in appointments and issuance of visas. He also mentioned that post the ongoing student-travel season the US consulate will be enabled to issue quicker visas for seafarers. He further assured that the US Consulate is considering adding resources and innovative approaches to streamline the visa application processes, which will pace up to pre-covid times by the end of the year.

The FOSMA & MASSA team also enquired if there was anything that the member companies could do to streamline the process of applications and enable the consulate to reduce delays for crew visas. On this, the Consulate Visa team advised that all companies should update their signatory lists, along with the security features adopted for visa letters. Also, in the case of any unfortunate event where Indian seafarers desert the ship in a US port, it should be reported promptly to the US Embassy.

The US Consulate further informed of their intention to resume the Meet & Greet sessions with the crewing agencies later in the year. They requested that the members must use this opportunity and attend the event whenever an invitation is received by them.

Capt. Halbe commenting on the outcomes of the meeting said, “It was a very fruitful meeting with officials of the US Consulate in Mumbai. They took on board challenges faced by us and our seafarers due to delays in getting US visa appointments and understood that reliefs were impacted adversely.

“They were very forthcoming and were positive that they will come up with solutions as they had already set the wheels in motion, and hoped to call an ‘industry meet and greet’ in the near future.”

Capt. Tandon, commenting on the meeting said, “This meeting between the joint representation of FOSMA & MASSA and the US Consular Office goes a long way in improving cooperation between consulates and industry bodies, who need to work together to address the issues faced by seafarers at all levels.”

Marex Media