Thu | Mar 28, 2024

Telephone calls, passport requests overwhelm Jamaican Consulate in NY

Published:Saturday | April 22, 2023 | 12:18 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
Alsion Roach Wilson, consul general, New York
Alsion Roach Wilson, consul general, New York

The Jamaican Consulate in Manhattan, New York, has implemented a number of changes designed to cope with the volume of requests for passports and other services.

Consul General Alsion Wilson said given the number of calls that the consulate deals with daily, establishing a call centre at the office for callers to speak with a representative is being considered. Currently the consulate has two telephone operators who receive incoming calls.

Additionally, the telephone system has been updated for calls to roll over to other staff members to provide a shorter wait time. An estimated 1,200 calls per day, mainly about passport and visa issues, is received.

Noting that the Consulate in New York serves about 33 other states as well as Puerto Rico and Bermuda, Consul General Wilson said she understands the frustration when someone calls into the consulate and has to wait a long time to reach an operator.

“The aim is to ensure that this does not continue to happen and people do not become frustrated,” she said.

The consulate is still without its full staff complement, she said.

“We need another four or five people in the passport section to handle the volume of applications that come in on a daily basis,” she told The Gleaner.

Consul General Wilson said there are ongoing talks with the passport and immigration agency in Jamaica about hiring the additional staff needed.

Pointing out that the passport section processes some 15,000 applications yearly, the consul general said this is in addition to citizenship applications and visa applications.

“When we close to the public daily, staff members then have to process applications received through the mail. This sometimes results in staffers having to work later then they should to process all applications. Hopefully, we will be given the green light to hire additional staff,” she said.

Addressing the issue of vacancies of honorary consuls, she pointed out that a new Chicago should get a new honorary consul shortly to replace long-time honorary consul Lloyd Haye, who has retired. Efforts are also being made to fill the honorary consul position in Boston, which is also vacant.

“We do not have a candidate for the Boston position as yet by interviews are ongoing,” she said.

She is also looking to implement a health and wellness programme for staff at the consulate and deepen relationships with a number of Jamaican businesses in the diaspora to better serve them.

The consulate will also be pursuing initiatives to develop business and housing investment opportunities.