New Delhi:

The U.S. consular team in India processed a record 1.4 million U.S. visas in 2023, more than ever before, and reduced visitor visa appointment wait times by 75%.

According to the US Embassy and Consulates in India, currently 1 in 10 US visa applicants worldwide are from India.

“In 2023, U.S. embassies and consulates in India processed a record 1.4 million U.S. visas. Demand across all visa categories was unprecedented, with applications up 60% compared to 2022. Indians now account for One-tenth of the U.S. population. Visa applicants from around the world,” the statement read.

Visitor visas (B1/B2) have rebounded, reaching the second-highest number of applications in the history of the U.S. Embassy – more than 700,000.

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.

The statement added that in 2023, the US consular team in India issued more than 140,000 student visas, more than any other country in the world, setting a record for the third consecutive year.

Among them, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai are the top four states in the world in terms of student visa processing volume.

This makes Indian students the largest group of international graduate students in the United States. They make up more than a quarter of the more than 1 million foreign students studying in the United States.

The U.S. Embassy and Consulate further stated that “work visas” remain a top priority.

The Indian consular team consolidated most application-based visa processing in Chennai and Hyderabad to increase efficiency, processing more than 380,000 employment visas for Indians and their family members in 2023 and keeping U.S. missions to a minimum appointment waiting time.

In another development, a pilot program this year will allow eligible H1B holders to renew their visas in the United States, further streamlining the process for this group.

It further informed that the Consulate General in Mumbai has eliminated over 31,000 immigrant visa applications that were delayed due to the pandemic.

It added that those with pending immigrant visa applications and ready to schedule can now get appointments within the standard pre-pandemic appointment window.

“The U.S. Mission continues to invest in the future of consular services in India and explore ways to provide more efficient and accessible services. These investments include the opening of a new $340 million facility in Hyderabad in March 2023, the announcement of two The U.S. Consulates in Ahmedabad and Bangalore continue to make capital improvements to our facilities across the country, as well as deploy additional consular officers to India,” the U.S. Embassy and Consulates said in a statement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)