Currently, 1 in 10 US visa applicants globally is from India
New Delhi:
The U.S. Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, on Monday joined the embassy’s consular team to interview more than 1,000 visitor visa applicants, according to a press release from the U.S. Embassy.
The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi held the first of four “Super Saturday” visa processing events planned for 2024, with U.S. envoys arriving to assist the embassy team.
In addition, the Consulate in Mumbai has opened special visa processing hours on March 9.
“The foundation of our U.S.-India partnership is the network of relationships individuals develop while working, traveling and studying in the United States,” Ambassador Garcetti said.
“The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi opened its doors on Saturday, March 9, 2024, to interview more than 1,000 visitor visa applicants. Ambassador Garcetti joins the Embassy team to support reinforcements and assist with the fingerprint verification process,” U.S. Embassy in 2024 Said on March 9th. A release.
super excited #supersaturday! Today I joined our consular team who are working extra hard to serve visa applicants. We remain committed to meeting the unprecedented demand for U.S. visas. #USIndiaFWDpic.twitter.com/wGpLyM7aip
— US Ambassador Eric Garcetti (@USAmbIndia) March 9, 2024
“We are doing everything we can to facilitate the visa process and support important people-to-people connections,” U.S. envoy Garcetti said.
He further emphasized that the U.S. Mission in India has increased staffing and leveraged technological innovations to meet unprecedented demand and process more visas than ever before.
In early 2023, U.S. embassies and consulates in India processed a record 1.4 million U.S. visas.
“Demand across all visa categories is unprecedented, with applications up 60% compared to 2022,” the release said.
It is worth noting that currently 1 in every 10 US visa applicants globally is Indian.
Additionally, process improvements and investments in staffing have reduced wait times for visitor visa appointments nationwide from an average of 1,000 days to just 250 days, with short wait times across all categories.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
