The US embassy and its associate consulates in India are planning to process a “record” number of visas for Indians this year, its Mumbai-based Consular Chief John Ballard said. This move has come in taking stock of the delays and backlog the department has reported in almost every visa category.
At present, the wait time for Indians applying for work visas ranges from 60-280 days, while for travellers it stands for one and a half years. Taking a view of the situation related to visa prevalence, the External Affairs Ministry has raised the matter with US authorities and multiple occasions as well as related to the further ease in issuing visas for Indians across all the categories.
Ballard while interacting with the media on the matter said, The embassy adjudicated over 1,25,000 student visas last year, a record number for Indians, and expects even more Indian students to apply for visas this year.
He further added that the embassy has almost reached its pre-pandemic levels in the processing of visas, and is expected to surpass that level this year. Coming from the official the only category in which the embassy is looking to reduce the backlog is for first-time B1 and B2 tourist and business travel visas.
Ballard furthermore said, "Last year, we adjudicated over 8,00,000 total visa adjudications and we are almost up to our pre-pandemic levels, which we expect to surpass in 2023.”
Banks in India to remain closed for 2 days after Union Forum of Bank Unions postpones two-day strike
In addition, for visa renewals, applicants are now provided with the option to send their application by e-mail arranging the provisions to conduct the interview for the first-time applicants.
Detailing the media over the matter Ballard went on to add, "Adjudications are just part of the many initiatives that we are currently undertaking to help reduce the backlog for visa wait times."
It is for long that those seeking to travel to the US are suffering through delays and backlogs from across the categories. The Mumbai Chief Consular emphasised that issuance and refusals for any visa category depend upon the individual applicant and in which visa category he/she is applying for.
Citing an example he added, "B1/B2 visa applicants must be able to demonstrate the purpose of their travel to the US and their ties to India that would ensure their return.