Any fees paid prior to Friday, April 13, 2012 remain valid for one year from the date of payment. There will be a 90 day grace period after which the difference between the old rate and the new rate must be paid at the Consular Section cashier. No refunds will be available to applicants who paid the higher fee.

Yes. The applicant's personal information and transactions on this Web site are secured with a Web server certificate through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption.

Before you can access the Visa Information Web site, you must first register for an account. To register for an account, you must enter the account information of the applicant or family member applying for a visa. Once you registered for an account, you must pay the non-refundable fee of visa application fee to schedule an appointment You can access information prior to paying the MRV once you have registered.

If you want to add a family member(s) after you have scheduled an appointment, you will need to cancel your appointment first. Please note, depending on the calendar availability, there is no guarantee that you will be able to schedule the same date and time as originally scheduled.

To cancel your appointment you may log in to the system using your passport number, date of birth and nationality. Once logged in, select Cancel from the options on the Applicant Summary Page. When the appointment is cancelled, you will be prompted to add a family member. You will need the DS-160 confirmation number and the MRV fee receipt number for each family member that you add.

You may not change or cancel any of the family member's appointments including yours on the date of the appointment.

Login information will allow the applicant to access the Web site and schedule/reschedule as many times as the applicant would like before the reschedule/cancel deadline in the confirmation email.

Please note that when using certain e-mail clients, for example Hotmail and Yahoo, the e-mail formatting may not appear as intended. The applicant's information has been stored correctly and the strange characters do not indicate any errors in the applicant's data.

The applicant's personal information and transactions on this Web site are secured with a Web server certificate through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. SSL secured sites are generally slower than similar sites without encryption.

Log in again and if the applicant has not yet scheduled an appointment, please look at the calendar again. Availability can often change, due to other applicants having canceled their appointments. However, if the applicant has booked an appointment already, and now wishes to change that appointment, the applicant must cancel the current appointment in order to view the calendar to see if there is an earlier date for which the applicant would like to schedule. If the applicant feels the travel situation is an emergency, the applicant should read the Expedited Appointments information located in the left hand menu on this Web site. If the applicant requires a visa to travel to the United States, please obtain one before purchasing a ticket.

The applicant can attend the scheduled appointment and present the new passport. If the applicant is not able to obtain a new passport before the scheduled appointment date, the applicant must cancel or reschedule the appointment. An applicant will not be able to apply for a visa without a valid passport. Please provide a copy of the police report if the passport was stolen.

After the applicant schedules an appointment, the confirmation screen and confirmation email will show a date and time by which any changes to the appointment (reschedule or cancellation) must be made. To reschedule or cancel the appointment, the applicant may log in to the system using the passport number, date of birth and nationality prior to that date/time. Once the applicant logs in, they may select cancel or reschedule from the options on the Applicant Summary page.

The applicant may change the appointment date as many times as needed before the reschedule/cancel deadline in the confirmation email.

The applicant should reschedule or cancel appointments as soon as the applicant is aware of the conflict. The appointment is non-transferable. Only the person(s) scheduled will be allowed to enter and attend the appointment. Another person cannot attend the applicant's appointment.

Send an inquiry by clicking on the "Contact Us" link at the top of the page. All queries must include the name of the country where the applicant is seeking a visa in the subject line.

Unless canceled or revoked, a visa is valid until its expiration date. Therefore, if the traveler has a valid U.S. visa in an expired passport, the traveler may present it, along with a new valid passport, at the Port of Entry.

Please present the original expired passport, along with a new valid passport, at the Port of Entry. Both of the passports must indicate the same nationality, and the bearer's name must be identical in both passports.

Please note: A valid visa is not guarantee of entry into the United States. Final determination of entry is at the sole discretion of the USCIS Officer reviewing the documentation.

We are a visa information and appointment scheduling service only. We cannot provide any advice to assist you or give you information or assistance on the form DS-160 found on the U.S. Department of State's Web site as that application is not run by us or integrated into our system. You may find FAQs for the DS-160 application form at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/forms/forms_4401.html.

MRV Fee payments are non refundable. However, if you used a credit card and paid the wrong MRV amount you must pay again and ensure you pay the correct amount to complete your scheduling process. You may send an email to Contact Us requesting a refund for the wrong MRV amount paid but it is not a guarantee the amount will be refunded to you.

To request a refund please include the following:

• Passport numbers for all applicants
• Dates of birth for all applicants
• The names in the passports for all applicants
• Last 4 digits of credit card used
• The expiration date
• Type (AMEX, MasterCard, Visa)
• Payment Amount (i.e. $140, $150, $350, $390) and the multiples; example 2 x $140
• Date when payment was made or attempted to be made
• Type of visa for which you are applying
• A scanned copy of your credit card statement showing the charges

If you paid cash at Banamex or Scotiabank and over paid the wrong amount, for example, if you paid $150 USD but in reality you needed a $140 USD MRV payment number you can send an email to Contact Us. Contact Us will provide a new MRV number for the correct amount of $140 USD. Contact Us will associate that new number to your applicant record for you to be able to schedule your appointment. IMPORTANT: there will not be a refund for the $10 USD difference.

When sending an email to Contact Us please include the following:

• Passport numbers for all applicants
• Dates of birth for all applicants
• The names in the passports for all applicants
• A scanned image of both receipts (deposit slip from our Website and the deposit receipt from the bank (Banamex or Scotiabank))
• Type of visa for which you are applying

If you under paid the MRV amount, for example, if you paid $140 USD but in reality you needed a $150 USD MRV payment number, you will need to pay again and ensure to pay the correct amount to schedule your appointment. The $140 USD originally paid will not be refunded. However, each MRV payment is valid for one year from the date of purchase.

Send an email to Contact Us and provide the following information:

• Passport numbers for all applicants
• Dates of birth for all applicants
• The names in the passports for all applicants
• Last 4 digits of credit card used
• The expiration date
• Type (AMEX, MasterCard, Visa)
• Payment Amount (i.e. $140, $150, $350, $390) and the multiples; example 2 x $140
• Date when payment was made or attempted to be made
• Type of visa for which you are applying
• A scanned copy of your credit card statement showing the charges

If the system indicated that your MRV fee receipt number is invalid or requests that you make another payment, please click on the "Contact Us" option at the top of the screen and provide us with your passport number, the legal name in your passport, the MRV fee receipt number and how you purchased your MRV fee . Do not pay again as MRV fee payments are non-refundable! The Contact Desk Support Team will research your issue and respond to you as soon as they have the information to assist you.

If you got a system error when making your MRV fee payment online, do not attempt to make another payment. MRV fee payments are non-refundable! First, check your applicant record to see if there is an MRV fee receipt number associated with your account. If you see an MRV fee receipt number on your Applicant Summary page then you can continue scheduling your appointment. If you do not see an MRV fee receipt number on your Applicant Summary page, please click on the "Contact Us" option at the top of the screen and provide us with your passport number, the legal name in your passport, the last 4 digits of your credit card and the date and time you attempted to make your purchase. The Contact Desk Support Team will research your issue and respond to you as soon as they have the information to assist you.

MRV fees are valid for 1 year from date of purchase. If you need to reschedule your appointment because you did not attend your scheduled interview, please click on the "Contact Us" option at the top of the screen and provide us with an explanation of why you were turned away, the passport number, the legal name in the passport and the MRV fee receipt number for all applicants needing to reschedule. The Contact Desk Support Team will research your issue and reschedule to you as soon as they have the information to assist you.

If you are having a problem registering for an account, here are some steps you can take:

• Try the standard Web remedies for similar situations you've encountered elsewhere in your Web browsing, e.g., refresh the page if you get a message saying that the page could not be found or displayed; make sure you have the right software for the application; hit the back button and try again.
• The Web site can best be accessed using Internet Explorer version 7 or higher, or Firefox version 3 or higher. The same quality of service cannot be guaranteed if another internet browser is being used.
• If you are using an older version of Internet Explorer, you may download the most recent version at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx
• To download the most recent version of Firefox please visit http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html
• Check that you are entering the correct "captcha field" as requested by the system. Captcha requires that you type letters or digits from a distorted image that appears on the screen.

Depending on the individual's Internet Explorer (IE) security settings, IE will disable features it views as being insecure. This includes javascript, which is used to create the calendar.

Some users may need to adjust their security settings in IE by going to "Tools" (in the top menu), then selecting "Internet Options". In the Internet Options box that opens up they should click the "Security" tab. From there, they should click "Reset all zones to default level". This should return the security level to "Medium-high" which will allow IE to run the javascript needed not only on the calendar page, but throughout the site.

You can change your DHL courier pickup location by logging into the system using the passport number, date of birth, and nationality of the applicant applying for the visa. It is very important that you use the same information used to create the account under which the appointment was booked.

Once logged in, you will be directed to an applicant summary page. Please choose Reschedule Appointment and step through the pages until you reach the Choose DHL Branch page. Make the change and click submit. Once you've done that you may log back out.

Changes to the DHL courier location pickup must be made before the cancel/reschedule deadline on your appointment confirmation page. Changes to the DHL courier location after that date and time will not result in the desired routing.

The message "There are no available appointments at this time." does, in fact, mean that there are no available appointments for the chosen visa category at the chosen consular section. You will not be able to continue on to a payment page if the message "There are no available appointments at this time." is displayed.

Please be aware that certain visa categories are very popular and the available slots fill rapidly. As the amount of appointments made available are at the sole discretion of the Embassy and the Consulates, keep trying to find an available appointment. Appointment availability changes regularly as applicants reschedule and cancel appointments. You may consider choosing another consular section with available appointments if you are able to travel there.

Appointment availability changes regularly as applicants schedule and cancel appointments. The best way to ensure that an appointment date is available before your travel dates is to schedule your appointment well in advance.

If you have not yet scheduled an appointment, check the calendar again. Earlier dates may now be available.

If you have already booked an appointment, and now wish to change it, cancel your current appointment to view the calendar. In the calendar view, you will be able to see if there is an earlier date when you would like to reschedule.

If you feel your situation is an emergency, read the guidelines for requesting an expedited appointment date located on the left hand menu of this Web site.

Please review these guidelines carefully. It is at the sole discretion of the consular section whether to approve or deny requests for an expedited appointment. You must have already scheduled an appointment before you can request an expedited appointment.

Please note that the Earliest Available Appointment line shown on your Applicant Summary page is informational only.

You can book an appointment when you actively choose a date and time (it is not automatically assigned to you) on the Calendar page after you go past the MRV Fee Payment & Receipt pages. If you did not see a calendar to choose a date and time, then you did not have an appointment scheduled. We cannot guarantee that the original date you saw on your Applicant Summary page will still be available nor can you be booked into that date if it is no longer showing as the First Available Appointment date.

You can pay on this site once you have registered, indicated the purpose of your travel, and your preferred consular section. You can pay on this site using Visa, MasterCard or American Express. You can also download a deposit slip for Scotiabank if you prefer to pay cash.

Yes. Once you have registered on the site, the Applicant and Family Summary page will show you the first available appointment. However, you cannot see the full calendar or actually book an appointment until you have paid the MRV fee.

You should wait one business day from the time that you deposit the MRV fee at Scotiabank before you use it to schedule an appointment.

This service is not part of the Embassy or the Consulates, we are only their official appointment scheduling service so we are not able to answer your question regarding reasons that a visa was denied, how long it will take for your visa application to be processed, etc.