New Delhi: The US Mission in India on Thursday surpassed its target of processing one million non-immigrant visa applications this year, with Ambassador Eric Garcetti personally handing over the one millionth visa to a couple who will be travelling to the US to attend their son’s graduation from MIT.
Dr Ranju Singh, Senior Consultant at Lady Hardinge College, was delighted to receive an email from the US Embassy informing her that she was the one millionth visa this year. Her husband, Puneet Dargan, received the next visa. The couple will travel to the US in May 2024.
Welcoming the couple as “Mr and Mrs One Million”, Ambassador Garcetti inquired about their travel plans to the US and offered suggestions on what not to miss in the country as a tourist.
“I couldn’t be happier today, happy for India, happy for Indians and happy for the United States. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and President (Joe) Biden had said let’s do a better job, let’s move faster on visas and so the State Department here approved more posts in places like Hyderabad… more people who can work on these visas, we changed our systems, we worked harder and smarter and we hit one million visa applications processed this year,” the ambassador said.
“Our partnership with India is one of the United States’ most important bilateral relationships, and in fact one of the most important relationships in the world. The bond between our people is stronger than ever, and we will continue our record-breaking visa workload in the coming months to give as many Indian applicants as possible the opportunity to travel to the United States and experience the U.S.-India friendship firsthand,” he added.
The mission has already surpassed the total number of cases it processed in 2022, and is processing nearly 20 per cent more applications than it did in 2019 before the outbreak.
“We received an email after our visa interviews to collect our visas, we were told we were the one millionth… the Ambassador meeting us personally was a great moment for us. We are looking forward to going to the US, we will be there at MIT to celebrate our son’s proud day and then explore the country as tourists,” Dr Singh told PTI.
Dargan said her son is currently studying for a Master’s degree in financial engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“This will be our first trip to the US. We are very much looking forward to it,” he said.
Last year, more than 1.2 million Indians visited the United States. Indians now represent over 10 per cent of all visa applicants worldwide, including 20 per cent of all student visa applicants and 65 per cent of all H&L (employment) visa applicants.
According to a statement issued by the US Embassy here, the US continues to invest heavily in its operations in India in recognition of the continued high demand for US visas.
“Over the past year, the Mission has increased its staffing to process more visas than ever before. The Mission has made significant capital improvements to existing facilities, such as the US Consulate in Chennai, and opened a new Consulate building in Hyderabad.
“The Mission has also implemented strategies to increase efficiency, such as extending interview waivers to new visa categories and using remote working to allow employees around the world to contribute to Indian visa processing. Early next year, the Mission plans to implement a pilot programme that would allow domestic visa renewal for qualified H&L employment visa applicants,” it said.
