The US is increasing staff and opening new consulates to reduce the waiting time for visas from India, confirmed US Ambassador Eric Garcetti. The new consulates will come up in Ahmedabad, while one was recently opened in Hyderabad.
Speaking at an interactive session organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Garcetti said, “I toured the new premises for the consulate in Ahmedabad yesterday. A few more people have already joined the consulate in Hyderabad as we increase the staff in the city and premises are being taken up in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad for the establishment of new consulates”.
He also said that the US Embassy is likely to issue 10-15 per cent more visas than usual in the current calendar year. The number of visas issued in India has also increased by a third in recent weeks, Garcetti said.
The delay in issuing visas was due to the large number of applicants, the ambassador said, adding that other large countries such as Mexico and Brazil were facing similar problems.
Meanwhile, the US embassy also announced that its India team has processed more visa applications in 2023 than in any previous year. “We’ll be serving thousands of students, workers, tourists and more in the coming weeks, just in time for the busy holiday travel season,” it said on social media.
Indian applicants have faced long delays in receiving US visas, mainly due to the high volume of applications. The Joe Biden administration had further expanded its visa waiver programme to reduce wait times for appointments. In April, it had said that travellers who had received clearance or departmental approval for their previous visas could use the visa interview waiver process to apply for a new visa.
The Biden administration also announced that Indian professionals would not have to leave the US to renew their H-1B visas.
In June, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that US consular teams were making a huge push to process as many visa applications as possible in India, including in the visa categories that are key to the bilateral relationship. Speaking to reporters, he described it as a top priority.
There have been reports of discussions on visa issuance during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US.
