The US Consulate General in Mumbai has eliminated the visa backlog that was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Promising news for visa applicants, the Consulate announced that immigrant visa interview appointments can now be scheduled within the standard time frame, an official press release stated.
It said that following the pandemic, appointment wait times for immigrant visa applicants stood at over two years, but now applicants whose immigrant petitions are current—meaning visas are available and applicants are ready to book an appointment—can schedule their appointments for immigrant visa interviews within the standard time frame. This will facilitate faster reunification of families in the United States.
The significant demand in India for visas to travel to the United States and the increase of people-to-people ties reflects the strength and vitality of U.S.-India relations, the Mumbai office stated.
The U.S. Mission to India remains committed to reducing non immigrant visa (NIV) interview wait-times, it said.
The release further read that over 9 lakh NIV applications have been processed so far and it will surpass one million visas soon.
"We continue to implement innovative approaches – including remote processing of interview waiver applications – to better meet the needs of visa applicants, and we regularly open new visa appointments to meet the high demand," the US Consulate General in Mumbai said.
The US administration has taken steps to reduce the visa backlog for Indians that had made headlines for quite a while, with the waiting time for B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) applicants going up to three years in October 2022.
After the coronavirus-related travel restrictions were lifted, India has been one of the very few countries where applications for US visas saw a major upswing.
Notably, earlier in February, this year, the US Embassy in India announced that Indians who are travelling abroad can get a visa appointment at the US Embassy or consulate of their destination, after pandemic-related restrictions were lifted. The US issued around 82,000 visas in the last one year.
First Published: Aug 29, 2023 10:58 PM IST
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