Get a US visa by travelling to other countries: The new rule to reduce wait time for Indians explained

The United States Embassy in India has announced measures to reduce the wait time for B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) visas.

Indian nationals will now be able to seek appointments for a US visa at some select American embassies in other countries. The move is aimed at curbing the enormous backlog, with the waiting period for a US visa touching 999 days at some centres in India last December.

While the wait time for a US student visa is over 70 days in India, those applying for business and tourist visas continue to face “staggering” waits.

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Currently, the estimated wait time for B1 and B2 visas for Indians is over 500 days, with the period highest in Mumbai at 638 days.

What new rules has the US announced to decrease the wait time for visas? Why is the waiting period in India for a US visa interview so high? Let’s take a closer look.

Plans to slash wait time for US visas

The US Embassy wrote on Twitter on Friday (3 February) that Indians who are travelling abroad will be able to apply for an appointment at American embassies or consulates outside India.

Citing an example of Bangkok, it underscored that Thailand’s capital now has the capacity for providing US visas – B1 and B2 – to Indians.

“Do you have upcoming international travel? If so, you may be able to get a visa appointment at the US Embassy or Consulate in your destination. For example, @USEmbassyBKK has opened B1/B2 appointment capacity for Indians who will be in Thailand in the coming months,” the embassy tweeted.

Speaking to the news agency PTI, an embassy official said that the US is “putting every ounce of its energy” into putting an end to the lengthy visa wait time in India.

Anil Kalsi, joint secretary of Travel Agents Federation of India, told The Times of India (TOI), that Indians have already been visiting other countries to secure appointments to apply for US visas due to the prolonged wait time here.

“The places include Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. I had client who had his H1B stamped in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) since he could not get an appointment in India,” the travel agent in Delhi added.

Meanwhile, the US embassy informed on Saturday that it has processed more than 1 lakh applications in January alone.

“This January, the US Mission to India processed over 1 lakh visa applications. That’s more than in any month since July 2019 and one of our highest monthly totals ever! And we aren’t done yet. Our capacity will continue to increase as our team grows this spring.”

Other efforts to cut wait time

Last month, the US kickstarted other initiatives to curb the backlog for nonimmigrant visas.

It started scheduling special interviews for first-time applicants and has also boosted the strength of its consular staff.

On 21 January, the US embassy in Delhi and the consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad conducted “special Saturday interview days”.

In the coming months, the US plans to make “additional slots” for appointments available on select Saturdays.

Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj

The US State Department has also initiated remote processing interview waiver cases for those who have held US visas previously, as per Mint report.

Moreover, several temporary consular officers from Washington and other embassies will be coming to India between January and March this year to ramp up visa processing capacity, the US embassy said earlier, as per TOI.

John Ballard, consular chief at US Consulate General Mumbai, told PTI in January, “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.”

He also said that they are taking steps to cut down the wait time for first-time B1 and B2 visa applicants.

“We recently opened up 2.5 lakh of B1/B2 visa appointments throughout India and we have dozens of officers, who have come from embassies around the world and Washington DC, specifically to help us to conduct interviews for first-time B1/B2 applicants,” Ballard was quoted as saying by PTI.

Foreign minister S Jaishankar had raised the issue of visa delay with US secretary of state Antony Blinken in September last year.

ALSO READ: US visa appointments in just a week for these categories amid 1,000 days wait

Why is there such a long wait time?

Several factors have contributed to the long wait period. As the COVID-19 pandemic struck, many foreign consulates across the world reduced staff, retaining a smaller workforce.

The US stopped almost all visa processing globally in March 2020.

The wait for a US visa touched 999 days at some centres in India last December. AFP (Representational Image)

In 2021 when travel between India and the US restarted, the highest demand for US visas – student, work, B1/B2 and crew – came from India. However, the problem of staffing shortage at consulate offices is expected to be completely resolved only by this summer, as per TOI.

US Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman told Forbes, “Wait times are still excessively high despite marked improvements in countries like India”.

Freeman said that “much work remains to bring interview wait times down to an acceptable level” caused by pandemic-related disruptions.

With inputs from agencies

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