The US Embassy and its consulates in India have launched several new initiatives to reduce wait times and enhance visa processing across the country.
The current waiting time for Indian visitors is 500-600 days.
The US mission said its services in India have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has created a large backlog.
This affected many Indian businesses and thousands of Indians who depend on visas to live and work in the US.
“Our consular teams across India are putting in extra hours to meet the needs of international travelers and reduce wait times,” Mumbai consular chief John Ballard said in a statement on the embassy’s website.
“This is part of a broader mission to find innovative solutions to make travel to the United States easier,” he added.
For Indians applying for a work visa, the waiting time currently ranges between 60-280 days while the waiting time for visitors is around 1.5 years.
The long waiting time for Indian visitors is in contrast to those from European cities where it is around 20 days.
According to US State Department estimates, applicants in Asian cities like Beijing and Colombo have to wait about 30-35 days.
However, India’s wait time has improved from the nearly three years that many applicants faced in 2022.
The US mission said its embassy in Delhi and consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad will now be open on Saturdays for applicants who require in-person visa interviews.
The Consulate General in Mumbai has also extended its working hours on weekdays to accommodate additional appointments.
The US State Department will soon increase the number of consular officers permanently stationed at offices in India, the mission said.
By March, it will also hire dozens of temporary consular officers from Washington and other embassies to increase its processing capacity.
“The U.S. Mission to India has prioritized facilitating lawful travel and has decided on more than 800,000 nonimmigrant visas in 2022, including a record number of student and employment visas,” its statement said. Also included.”
It added that it had issued 250,000 additional B1/B2 visa appointments in 2022 – essential for visitors.
