US to Issue 1 Million Visas to Indians This Year with Faster Processing

This year, the United States will give one million visas to Indians.

To meet the goal, the Embassy is hiring more people, expanding the breadth of drop-box services, and opening up interview slots over the weekend. This year, the US Mission has already handled almost two lakh applications.

The United States has announced that it will award visas to one million Indians this year, over a month after opening up visa slots for Indian citizens on weekends.

"Our objective is to process one million visa applications, including non-immigrant visas of all types," the official continued.

According to the Embassy, the US Department of State handled over nine million non-immigrant visa applications globally in 2022.

Non-immigrant visa categories include business visas, travel visas, student visas, and crew visas.

To meet the goal, the Embassy is increasing employees, expanding the breadth of drop-box services, and offering up interview slots over the weekend to make the process easier for Indian people. Visa processing times have already decreased dramatically.

In January, the US embassy set up special Saturday interview slots for quicker visa processing for first-time applicants, as part of a "multi-pronged strategy" to overcome the visa application backlog caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The US mission, which has offices in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad in addition to the national capital, has also boosted the size of its consular employees, according to a statement.

"The one million visa proposal is an India-specific effort to further promote people-to-people ties between the two nations," says an Embassy spokesperson.

The interview waiver was recently broadened to include Indian residents seeking a US visa.

The drop-box service, which allows you to renew your US visa without having to go through an interview, is now available for a variety of categories, including student visas, business and tourist visas, and skilled worker visas.

In addition, the government is boosting the number of consular personnel who are permanently assigned to embassy and consulates.

"By the summer, the US mission in India will be fully operational, and we anticipate processing visas at pre-Covid levels," the agency stated.

Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, told the reporters in Washington a few weeks ago, "India is the number one priority currently."

"We have awarded 36% more visas this year than we did before the COVID-19 outbreak in India," she noted. And that is a significant amount of development."

The US Embassy in India said last month that Indians travelling overseas can acquire a visa appointment at the US Embassy or consulate of their destination. It highlighted Thailand as an example, stating that the government has increased appointment capacity for Indians seeking B1 and B2 visas (business and travel).