US Expands Visa Access for Indians with 250,000 New Appointments
The US Mission has said it will release 250000 new visa appointments that should help decrease the wait times that many Indians have experienced in recent years. These expansions include affecting most of the visas such as the tourist, skilled worker and students’ visas which strengthens the relations between the two countries. This has occurred at a time when the requirement of the visa has been increased and more especially among students who want to enhance their studies and professional persons who want to improve their skills in the United States of America.
According to U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India, more than 1.2 million Indians traveled to the United States in 2024 with a 3.5% increase from the previous year. Such are the numbers that the US Mission to India has been able to handle a record number of visa applications for the second year in a row reaching 1 million non-immigrant visas. At the present time, there are about six million Indians possessing legitimate non-immigrant visas, such as student visas, working visas, or visitor visas.
General Visa Processing Milestones of Indian Students
The United States is one of the most popular study abroad destinations for Indian students. In the year 2024 itself, US consulates in India received a record number of student visa applications; many first-time applicants could get interview appointments. This is a great achievement that underlines the importance of the US as a destination for students from India, a factor that is likely to be bolstered with the new appointments on visa.
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Measures Taken to Tackle Backlogs and Disparities
Processing of visas was hiked by COVID-19 and the backlog is currently being worked through with greater efficiency. The US Embassy has been able to reduce the days of waiting for the visitor visas from over 1000 days to about 250 days. US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti noted that the embassy was proud to meet these new demands and while the changes are an important part of enhancing the relationship between the two countries.
However, the process of getting a US visa especially for students and skilled workers remains a cut throat affair and a competition. But the extra visa appointments are considered to help lessen some of these difficulties, proving the US government’s desire to strengthen relations with India.
