The wait time for US customer’s visa interview has come down by 60 per cent, a senior official mentioned. The United States has taken alot of steps together with rising the variety of officers issuing visas and opening different diplomatic missions to course of these purposes. Applications for US visa noticed a serious spike in India after coronavirus associated travelling restrictions have been lifted. There has been a rising considerations in India over the lengthy ready interval for first time visa candidates, particularly for these making use of below B1 (enterprise) and B2 (vacationer) classes. The ready interval of first time B1/B2 visa candidates in India was near 1,000 days in October final yr.

In an interview, Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services mentioned that the objective of the State Department is to get to 1 million visas issued this yr, which might be above the pre-pandemic quantity.

“We have increased the number of officers going to India. We have set up arrangements, which is unprecedented, with other embassies in the world like Bangkok to take Indians who are seeking visas. We are opening a new consulate in Hyderabad… and we’re just focused on making sure that we can bring the wait time down in India,” she mentioned.

She additionally famous that London, Frankfurt and Abu Dhabi have taken lots of visa searching for Indian residents. We have requested these missions to take Indians as in the event that they have been from their very own host nation. Especially in locations like Bangkok the place there isn’t a visa required for Indians and it’s a comparatively quick flight, she mentioned.

“Obviously this is not ideal. We want Indians to be able to apply in India, and that’s where we’ll get to,” she mentioned.
“As a result of all of these efforts, the visitor visa interview wait time has decreased by 60 per cent just in the last couple of months. This is a result of all the work that we’ve put into making sure that Indians who wish to travel to the US can do so.”

Stufft mentioned that at the moment, “visa production in India is 40 per cent higher than it was before the pandemic” and asserted that the State Department was working exhausting to deliver down the wait time.
“Our team there is working very hard and they’re well on their way to accomplishing the 1 million visa goal,” Stufft mentioned.The State Department official additionally mentioned that they’re engaged on different forms of visas together with, pupil visas.

US not too long ago expanded interview waivers for Indians, which means that just some people have to go the consulate for an interview. This has made it attainable for individuals who do not want an interview, those that have travelled to the US earlier than, to get their visa in a file time of lower than two weeks.

“It really is a global effort. Because we have such strong ties with India and the relationship between our two countries means that the categories of visas are the highest in India.. students, tech workers, and crew members. It’s a high cultural, educational and work relationship between our countries,” Stufft mentioned.

“But make your appointment, find the place that you can go in India or outside of India where it’s possible. And bear with us as we bring these wait times down. We’re very excited to be hitting records every month with the number of visas that we’re issuing in India,” she mentioned.

The United States can be planning to launch a pilot mission on home renewal of visas. Under this mission, Indians residing within the United States will be capable to get their visas renewed with out leaving US.

“That’s very exciting for all of us. It will take time. We’re building up that operation from zero. That’s something that we have not done for several decades at this point. This will have big benefits for Indians who are living and working in America,” she added.

Currently, greater than 100 US diplomatic missions have been issuing visas to Indians.