Biden told me to shorten visa wait times for Indians: US envoy Garcetti

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said President Joe Biden directed him to reduce waiting times for US visas in India. The envoy said this was the first time a U.S. president had issued such a directive to an ambassador to any country. The waiting time for applying for a US visa in India is 250 days.

Eric Garcetti told news agency ANI: “The president told me to reduce visa waiting times in India. I believe this is the first time the president has said this to an ambassador of any country.”

Garcetti noted that part of the problem with the visa backlog is due to laws enacted by Congress.

He emphasized that the U.S. Congress needs to address issues such as legal immigration, green cards and citizenship.

Garcetti said visa wait times have been reduced by 75%.

“last year, Embassy in India processed 1.4 million visas, there has been an incredible explosion in the numbers for each visa category. There are no wait times at all, except for one area of ​​travel where there is still some wait time, which is people traveling to the United States for the first time,” said Rena Bitter, Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Garcetti responds to long visa wait times

The reduction in U.S. visa waiting times is linked to a 60% increase in Indian visa issuance last year.

“This is a legislative issue that Congress needs to address, whether it’s the amount of legal immigration, green cards or citizenship. Like any country, there are limits. That can be frustrating for Indians because there are so many people who want to come to the U.S. …Last year, India had the highest number of student visas, twice as many as the next largest country,” Garcetti told ANI.

More and more Indian students are choosing to study in American universities, created the prosperity of American universities. The number of Indian students in the United States has soared, increasing by an astounding 35% in just one year.

Currently, there are more than 250,000 Indian students in American universities.

Although visa waiting times have been reduced by 75%, there is still a 250-day waiting period. When asked about the ongoing 250-day waiting period, Garcetti stressed, “The 250-day waiting period is still a long time. It’s too high for me. Eric, I want you to shorten the visa,” the president said Waiting time” in India. I think this is probably the first time a president has ever said that to an ambassador from any country. “

“I think the presidents don’t even care about visa wait times, but we all have a lot of Indian friends who say, why is it taking so long? It’s even reported to the president. So the reality of 250 is the average. I think the lifespan of the average person is actually It’s been less than 200 days. It’s very difficult to do that with the existing resources,” he said.

Additionally, the U.S. Embassy in India reported that the number of Indian students traveling to the U.S. for higher education increased by 35% to a record high of 268,923 students in the 2022-23 academic year, according to the Open Doors report.

Garcetti said that in order to strengthen diplomatic ties, India has opened two consulates in Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

Despite the obstacles, they are working to increase the number of personnel to ensure they can represent themselves well and engage diplomatically in the region, following an agreement reached during the state visit.