All applicants for a visa, including those applying for renewals and extensions, have to pay an application fee in rupees -- which is equivalent to 50 US dollars -- only by demand drafts or pay orders drawn in favour of `The American Consulate General.' According to current rates, this comes to Rs 1,935. Frequent fluctuations in exchange rate necessitate sudden changes in the fee amount.

As the consulate only accepts drafts of the exact amount, most applicants face a problem. If an applicant who's come from Ahmedabad carries a draft of Rs 2,000, his visa application is rejected as the amount is more than that fixed by the consulate.

Applications are accepted by the consulate between 7 am to 11 am, so anxious visa-seekers are left with two options: they can either purchase drafts from touts by paying a hefty premium, or wait till 9 am,when the two banks near the consulate open. The wait means that by the time the applicant has the demand draft in hand, it's too late for him to submit his application the same day, given the queue.

Exploiting this situation, touts make a killing by `selling' demand drafts of the exact amount at a premium of anything between Rs 500 to Rs 1,500, depending on the rush at the consulate. Applicants are told: ``Buy the draft from us. Look at the queue. If you wait for the bank to open, your application won't be accepted today.''

When the consulate opened today after an extended weekend due to the Thanks Giving holiday in US on Monday, drafts of Rs 1,935 were openly sold for as high a price as Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000.

After an outcry in 1995, the consulate had decided to ask all applicants to produce counterfoils of their draft applications made to the bank to ensure the drafts were purchased by the applicants themselves. According to officials of the Indian Overseas Bank opposite the consulate, this rule wasstrictly followed for some time, but it's again back to square one.

But a consulate official maintained the practice of verifying drafts is still followed strictly. ``Draft counterfoils of all applicants are verified by our staff. Please call in the morning if you want more information,'' he said.

The touts say an applicant faces no problems if he/she buys a draft from them. ``Over 75 per cent of drafts submitted at the consulate are provided by touts. We are, in fact, authorised by consulate staff to run this business,'' they maintain.

Early morning joggers on Bhulabhai Desai road near Breach Candy hospital are familiar with the serpentine queue of visa-seekers. Many applicants who come from the neighbouring state of Gujarat arrive the previous evening and spend the entire night outside the consulate just to ensure they'd be in time to apply.

``The consulate should at least give regular news releases to national newspapers regarding changes in fee. How can the staff be so indifferent to the plight ofapplicants?'' asked an angry visa-seeker.