According to a senior official in the Biden administration cited by Press Trust of India, the wait time for US visitor visas for Indians has been reduced by 60% this year due to measures taken by the USCIS. This reduction in wait time is due to several steps taken by the US government, including opening more diplomatic missions in India and abroad to process visitor visa applications. As travel to the United States has resumed following a marked drop in Covid cases worldwide, India was one of the countries from where the number of visitor visa applications significantly increased.
There have been concerns over the long waiting periods for first-time visa applicants, particularly those applying under the B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) categories. In October 2022, the waiting period for first-time B1 and B2 visa applicants from India was almost 1,000 days.
The US State Department aims to issue one million visas this year, surpassing the pre-pandemic number of about 800,000, according to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services Julie Stufft. She explained that the State Department has increased the number of officers going to India, set up arrangements with other embassies in the world like Bangkok to take Indians who are seeking visas, and opened a new consulate in Hyderabad. Frankfurt, London, and Abu Dhabi have also taken many Indian citizens who are seeking visas, and Stufft said that more than 100 US diplomatic missions have been issuing visas to Indians.
Stufft added that the US is working to reduce the wait time for visa interviews in India and has asked missions in other countries to take Indians as if they were from their own host country. As a result of these efforts, the visitor visa interview wait time has decreased by 60% in the last couple of months. The US Embassy in India has prioritized the facilitation of legitimate travel following the lifting of Covid-related travel restrictions, and over 800,000 non-immigrant visas were issued in 2022, including record numbers of both student and employment visas.
Stufft said that visa production in India is now 40% higher than what it was before the pandemic, and the State Department is working hard to further reduce the wait time. In February, the US had the highest on-record production of visas in India. The goal is to issue one million visas this year, and Stufft believes that the team in India is well on its way to accomplishing this goal.
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