VOIWORLDThe United States embassy in India has reached a new high in processing visa applications in India. In 2023, the highest number of visas were issued compared to any previous year. Due to the hectic holiday travel season, the US Embassy has predicted a continual spike in visa processing in the following weeks.“It’s official! As of this month, our India team processed more visa applications in 2023 than in any previous year. And we aren’t done yet! We’ll be serving thousands of students, workers, tourists, and more in the coming weeks, just in time for the busy holiday travel season. Safe travels to all of our applicants and congrats to the Consular Team,” said the US Embassy in India in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
According to US Ambassador Eric Garcetti, the US is also increasing staff strength and opening additional consulates to shorten waiting times for visas issuing from India. The new consulates will be located in Ahmedabad, with one already operational in Hyderabad. During a session hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Garcetti said, “I had a look at the new premises for establishing a consulate in Ahmedabad yesterday. Some more people have already joined the Hyderabad consulate as we are increasing the staff strength in the city, and premises are being taken up in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad for setting up new consulates.”
He also stated that the US Embassy is anticipated to grant 10–15% more visas than usual this calendar year. According to Garcetti, the number of visas issued in India has climbed by one-third in recent weeks. The delay in visa processing was caused by a huge number of applications, according to the ambassador.
Due to the high number of applications, Indian applicants suffered lengthy delays in obtaining US visas. The Joe Biden administration had expanded its visa waiver programme even further in order to cut appointment wait times. It had stated in April that travellers who had received clearance or department authorization on their previous visas might use the visa interview waiver process to apply for a new visa.
The Biden administration also stated that Indian professionals would not need to leave the United States in order to renew their H-1B visas. In June, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that US consular officials have been working hard to process as many visa applications as possible in India, including in visa categories critical to the bilateral relationship. In an interview with reporters, he described it as a key priority.
