At a time when the wait time to get an appointment in India for an interview to get a US visa has reduced to 571 days from nearly 1,000 days only two days back, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday (January 11) said he has discussed the inordinate delays in issuance of business visas with the US and requested it to speed up the process.
"We found very good resonance to our request that issuance of business visas which is taking a long time back home in India is an area which needs to be expedited so that business persons interested on both sides — the US businesses and Indian businesses — need to have faster processing of business reasons, so that trade and investment and business do not suffer," Goyal told reporters at the conclusion of India-US Trade Policy Forum meeting that he co-chaired with the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
The development comes as the estimated wait time for B1/B2 visas is the highest among other categories ranging between 487 days in Kolkata to 571 days in Mumbai. These are non-immigrant visas for people who want to enter the US temporarily for business (visa category B1), for tourism (visa category B2), or for a combination of both purposes.
Estimated wait time for nonimmigrant visa interview appointment at US Embassy or Consulate | ||||
Nonimmigrant Visa Type | Interview Required Students/Exchange Visitors (F, M, J) | Interview Waiver Students/Exchange Visitors (F, M, J) | Interview Required Visitors (B1/B2) | Interview Waiver Visitors (B1/B2) |
Mumbai | 95 days | 82 days | 571 days | 109 days |
Delhi | 95 days | 81 days | 494 days | 21 days |
Chennai | 95 days | 71 days | 505 days | 6 days |
Hyderabad | 95 days | 74 days | 551 days | 125 days |
Kolkata | 95 days | 95 days | 487 days | 182 days |
Source: travel.state.gov data as of Jan 12, 2023
However, it must be noted that the wait time has significantly reduced in the past few days. Earlier on January 10 morning, the waiting period was close to 1,000 in Mumbai and nearly 800 days in Delhi and Chennai.
Reflecting on student visas, Goyal said, India was grateful that the US was able to process these on an expedited basis so that in the post COVID-19 scenario, Indian students could come to the US to pursue studies in the fall of 2022 semester. As of January 12, the estimated wait time for US student visa appointments was 95 days.
“We are now requesting them to see how we can resolve the movement of business persons on short term stays to the US," Goyal said. "We are delighted that the movement of professional and skilled workers, students, investors, business travellers, all are expanding between the two countries. That has helped increase our bilateral relations," the commerce minister added,
Also Read: All packed but still waiting? All you need to know about travel plans impacted by visa delays
