After COVID-19 budge back and forth curbs get been eased, the US realized itself in a brand new pickle — a backlog of visa functions, namely from Indian nationals. Citing diminished staffing and pandemic-related disruptions in operations since March 2020, the US embassy in India has said that the ask for visas across all categories is excessive.
The embassy added that wait instances would possibly maybe perchance be longer for many non-immigrant visa appointments at the embassy in New Delhi and the consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
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A wait time for a US visa of over two years is what most Indians are truly staring at. In Delhi, the ready period for Visitor Visas is 833 calendar days, 430 calendar days for Pupil/Alternate Visitor visas and 390 calendar days for all other non-immigrant visas.
Indian international minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar raised the matter with US secretary of pronounce Antony Blinken earlier in the week. Jaishankar later said that India is willing to cooperate with the US in every manner that you potentially can mediate of to support ease the reveal.
“I urged US pronounce secretary Blinken that if there used to be something that the Indian govt would possibly maybe perchance presumably dwell to support the US govt take care of this topic in a larger manner, we would be very open to doing it. Nonetheless, here is an topic the build it be mainly for the US to dwell, we will be supportive,” Jaishankar in fact handy reporters.
“In India, there are families unable to satisfy, students waiting for a prolonged time. So it be a predominant reveal. Nonetheless I am assured, with the sincerity Blinken confirmed, I’m hoping they’d deal with this and with any enhance that we can provide, we hope things will toughen.”
Blinken said he used to be “extremely tranquil” to the matter. “It is a product largely of the pandemic. Our skill to topic visas dropped dramatically all the map thru Covid. Here’s a self financing segment of the pronounce division…When Covid hit, the ask for visas fell..the system as a full suffered.”
Even supposing other nationalities are furthermore affected, the reveal is bigger for Indians as they have up a pleasant percentage of the recipients of H-1B and other work visas granted to expert international workers, many in the tech commerce.
The embassy extra said that the Department of Reveal has permitted consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for sure categories of visa candidates — F, H-1, H-3, H-4, non-blanket L, M, O, P, Q, and tutorial J visas-till December 31, 2022.
(With inputs from companies)
