Jugaad, that uniquely Indian concept of innovation and resourcefulness. After more than a decade away, I’d forgotten its all pervasive presence in every sphere of life here. Till it saved me at my recent appointment for the extension of my US Visa.

In India, applicants have to get two separate dates with the US embassy to complete the application process. On the first day, you provide biometric information at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) and on the second you go to the embassy for a personal interview. All this was new to me since I got my first US Visa in Hong Kong which lasted me 10 years, and the second time for my ‘wife-visa’ I went to the consulate in Kuala Lumpur. Both times the process was quick and simple and needed only one visit to the embassy. So I haven’t had the pleasure of dealing with the much-in-demand, and much talked about US embassy in Chennai. From what I’ve heard (and seen on occasion), people prepare for these appointments just as they would for an exam or a job interview!

I showed up for my first appointment at the application centre where biometric information is captured and documents are checked. As I was standing in line to get in, I saw a large board just outside the gate which said simply – ‘DS160 Correction Contact Auto Stand’. (No phones allowed so I couldn’t take a photograph, but got this image off the Internet in which the board is visible from the side)

DS160 is the non-immigrant visa application form you have to fill in electronically before you can even schedule an appointment. I had filled mine up last year in Malaysia and remember that it took me 45 mins to fill the whole thing up. For the biometric appointment applicants need to bring in the DS160 confirmation page, that is generated with a barcode after the application is filled in completely. This barcode and DS 160 number then serves as the reference for the officers to check your application details.

As I stood in line, I wondered why anyone would need a correction service for an application that’s relatively easy to fill, despite being time consuming. As it turns out I ended up needing the service! Since my original DS 160 had been submitted in Malaysia, my confirmation page showed the location of my file as Malaysia. I had the file transferred to Chennai when I got my appointment over a month ago. But I didn’t realize that I would have to update the info separately on the DS 160.

When the guy at the VAC checking the documents pointed this out to me and told me I would have to get this updated in order to proceed to the biometric stage, I panicked briefly… till I remembered the board outside. As promised, the auto stand was immensely helpful.

As soon as I stepped out, an auto driver approached me – ‘Maydum, correksenaa?’ (They obviously take note of who steps out within minutes of going in!). I nodded sheepishly.

For some reason he decided to speak to me in English.

‘Come, come 50 Rupees vonly. I take u correksun place.’

I played along. ‘I have a car. Where is this place?’

‘Vokay, no praablem.’ And he handed me a business card with the address! That surprised me because I thought taking people to a specific place is their revenue model.

As I went looking for my car, he moved on to a girl coming out of the VAC, clearly in the same predicament. This girl went straight to her Kinetic Honda bike as he spoke to her. I found my car and gave the driver the business card and told him to find the place. Suddenly, the auto driver shows up sitting behind the lady on the Kinetic Honda and taps on my window – ‘Follow me. I show you correksun place.’

Amazed and impressed, I followed the Kinetic Honda through twisty, narrow, bylanes and a few minutes later arrived at a tiny little shop front with a board outside – DS 160 Correction

While the other girl was parking her bike, I quickly I stepped inside and found myself in a minuscule air conditioned room with two computers and a young 20-22 year old guy furiously typing away at the computer. A pile of DS160 confirmation pages lay on the desk.

He looked up briefly and before I could say anything, he told me he is almost finished and will do my corrections next. Then he looked at the auto driver and nodded. All this without once stopping the incessant typing. The auto driver turned to me and said, “650 Rupees, maydum.”  The tone indicated this was not a negotiation. I was desperate. So were apparently many others who keep these guys in business by shelling out 650 bucks for their mistakes.

It turns out people are making the silliest mistakes in their DS 160. First name, last name switched, spelling errors, wrong passport number… seemingly tiny errors, but big enough that your application won’t be accepted. And clearly, there were enough of us to give birth to an alternate economy at the autorickshaw stand outside the US Visa Application Centre (VAC). The auto guys could make money in two ways. Giving people a ride to the place where corrections can be done and getting a commission from the correction centre for every careless applicant they bring in. Which is why my auto driver didn’t seem overly concerned that I didn’t need a ride. And each of the drivers in that auto stand has a similar system in place with other such correction centres. Ingenious!

I handed over my erroneous DS160 and pointed out what I needed changed. He logged into the visa website which is always open in one of the tabs, typed in my password and retrieved my application. Since mine had been filled up in Malaysia originally, it turned out I had to make more than just one change. The minute my location was changed to Chennai, almost the entire application had to be reviewed again. This guy was obviously a pro because his fingers typed away furiously and the application that had taken me 45 mins to fill up last year, he completed in 5 minutes. I handed over the 650 Rs gratefully and was back in the VAC building in less than 20 mins since I had stepped out.

The auto driver who had accosted me earlier waved at me and asked, ‘All vokay vaa?’ even as he approached the next distressed looking applicant coming out of the building.

Jugaad. The wondrous experience of India.