Direct courier service from US Embassy in Barbados

Effective June 18, 2007 DHL (B’dos) Ltd. will be providing express courier service directly from the premises of the Embassy of the United States in Barbados. This service will facilitate persons from the Eastern Caribbean and other countries who are required to have their applications for non-immigrant visas to the United States processed at the US Embassy in Bridgetown.{{more}}

“DHL has reached an agreement with the Embassy of the United States, which will see us providing a fully staffed booth to be located inside the waiting area of the Consular Section of the embassy,” said Joanne Marshall, country manager for DHL Barbados. “Since the embassy will no longer be issuing same-day visas, successful applicants from the Eastern Caribbean and other territories whose visas are processed at the embassy in Barbados will have to send their passports back to the embassy for final processing. With the establishment of the service counter, visa applicants will be able to make arrangements right there in the embassy not only for sending their passports back to Barbados, but also to have the passports returned to them in their home countries once processing is completed.”

Marshall said applicants would find that there was a simple but effective procedure for sending their passports back to Barbados and having them returned. Upon successful completion of the interview, the visa applicant would visit the DHL service counter and purchase two airway bills. He/She would complete one airway bill giving his/her name, address, contact details and other information in the home country. This airway bill would be retained by the DHL personnel at the service booth in the Consular Section.

The second airway bill would be completed with the name, address, and contact details for the US Embassy in Barbados and retained by the applicant. Upon arrival back in his/her home country, the applicant would visit their local DHL office and arrange for the passport to be sent back to Barbados using the airway bill completed with the address for the US Embassy. Once embassy personnel in Barbados have completed processing, DHL would return the passport to its owner using the airway bill completed with the address and other details in his/her home country.

As with all DHL transactions, the passports will be transported in secure, tamper-resistant packaging. The new service will also allow for online tracking so applicants can follow the progress of their passports from one point to another. In addition, the DHL service booth at the US Embassy will be operated by dedicated, specially trained staff.

“The new express service for delivery and return of passports to and from Eastern Caribbean and other countries served by the US Embassy in Barbados is backed by the strength, reliability and know-how of DHL, to say nothing of our experience in providing import and export express package and air freight services to over 220 countries worldwide,” added Marshall. “Visa applicants would be pleased to know that we’ve brought that kind of know-how and experience to bear in developing this particular service to cater to their needs and we are looking forward to assisting visa applicants in this regard.