The processing time for the issuance of United States visas is expected to mark a specific decrease by mid-2023 while the number is expected to reach about 1.2 million, according to a senior official of the US embassy.
“India is the number one priority for Washington (for issuance of visas). Our aim is to bring the situation to the pre-Covid-19 level by the middle of next year,” the official pointed out in this regard, according to Onmanorama news, VisaGuide.World reports.
India is among the few countries where the number of applications for American visas marked an increase after COVID-related bans and restrictions were abolished.
Previously it was reported that Indian students as well as passengers are subject to significant delays for US visa appointments due to backlogs.
Taking into account the long wait time for the grant of US visas, authorities in America are attempting to find new ways, including the hiring of more personnel to accelerate the visa processing time.
According to the US official, the US has identified H and L category visas for citizens of India among the US priorities while nearly 1,000,000 slots were released in recent months for those who plan to renew their visas.
In addition, the senior official of the US embassy stressed that in terms of the number of visas issued, India is expected to move to second place, thus surpassing Mexico and China who currently are ahead of China.
According to the official, among the main priorities of the US authorities is to cut the waiting time, especially for student visas and those who are planning to renew their visas. It was reported that authorities in the US issued about 82,000 visas last year.
“We are looking at 1.1 to 1.2 million visas to Indians by next summer,” the official emphasized.
Back in August, it was reported that Indians who applied for American visas for travel or study purposes would have to wait until 2024 in order to successfully book a visitor visa appointment.
The same report revealed that the backlog of applications at the embassies notably increased the waiting time for fresh applicants to an average of about one and a half years.
Authorities in the US are attempting to find effective ways in order to ease the travel process for Indian citizens.
In August this year, the US Embassy in India announced that it would resume in-person tourist visa appointments in September.
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