The typewritten or hand-written DS-156 NIV application form used to date will no longer be accepted as of November 1. 

The EVAF is available on-line at the Embassy’s website at http://bridgetown.usembassy.gov/visas_to_us.html, and at the website of the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs at http://evisaforms.state.gov/.

NIV applicants who use the Embassy’s on-line system (at http://evisaforms.state.gov/SchedulingSystem.asp) to book their interview appointments must already fill out the EVAF before requesting the appointment.  The system will only accept an appointment request after the applicant enters the barcode number generated at completion of the EVAF. 

After the applicant completes the EVAF on line, it must be printed out and brought to the interview, with the page containing the barcode generated by the EVAF application.

US Consul General Clyde Howard estimates that, “over 60% of all NIV applications submitted in Barbados already use the EVAF, and that number is rising rapidly.  We will accept the old hand, or typewritten DS-156 in genuine emergencies, but in most cases, applicants who do not bring an EVAF to their interview will be asked to complete one before their application will be accepted.”

In September 2003, Consular Affairs introduced a web-based non-immigrant visa (NIV) application form to be used in place of the existing paper application forms.  This new electronic form allows applicants to fill out the NIV application online, print it out, and bring it to the consular section when they apply for a visa.  The EVAF prints out with a barcode, which consular sections can scan in order to enter the applicant’s information into the State Department’s visa database more quickly.   “ The EVAF makes the NIV application process more efficient, saves data entry time in the consular section, and reduces data entry errors,” says Howard. 
 
The EVAF process allows applicants to fill out their application from any internet-connected computer.  The format and the questions are identical to the paper version of the NIV application form.  EVAF has been designed to keep applicants’ data safe and secure.  Its security and privacy has been proven through millions of applications
 
The EVAF can be found at http://evisaforms.state.gov/, and is available in English, Spanish, Polish, Korean, Japanese, French, German, and Portuguese. 
 
Applicants who have questions regarding the EVAF, or visa processing in general, can submit them to the Consular Section of the Embassy in Barbados by e-mail at consularbridge2@state.gov