XPAND and CSC Launch Electronic Visa Application Form (EVAF) to Support the Department of State's Visa Information Services initiative
Reston, Virginia - March 2006
XPAND Corporation announced today that Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) and XPAND have joined together in a team relationship to support a key aspect of the Department of State's Visa Information Services Initiative. The CSC / XPAND Team will design, develop and launch a unique web-based application that will be used to populate and generate the DS-156 Visa application form. Initially the application called EVAF, for Electronic Visa Application Form, will be made available at several selected US Embassies with the future potential of being installed at other Embassies throughout the world.
At present, several paper-based forms are provided by the Department of State for specific personal information that will be used to process an individual's Visa application. The primary form that is used is the DS-156. Currently, the only means to access and complete these forms is by printing a hard copy which is then filled-in by hand.
A second alternative is to attempt to complete the desired form using the allowed capabilities of Interactive PDF software. The Interactive PDF allows an individual to enter information onto a form, but without any editing or retention capabilities. The majority of U.S. Visa applicants are not familiar with using the interactive PDF software, resulying in wasted time, end-user frustrations, and the need for direct support by Embassy and Call Center personnel. The stated intent was to be able to accomplish completion of this Visa form programmatically; however, the secured PDF structure does not easily allow this objective to be met. With the directive to move more of the application completion and scheduling to a web-based application at each Embassy, the present inability to populate these forms is restricting progress.
The eGovForms™ gateway with EVAF will permit authorized external Visa appointment scheduling sites, such as VisaPoint, to connect to the EVAF application by a secured, encrypted connection that will be activated when the Visa applicant clicks on a hyperlink on the Visa appointment scheduling site. Where EVAF already has been installed, there has been a marked reduction in customer support calls and an improvement in the quality of information that is being provided to Embassy personnel.