NEWS 9 PLUS EXCLUSIVE: US visa wait time to be slashed, says Ambassador Eric Garcetti
New Delhi: In 2023, the US set a visa record in India by issuing 1.6 billion visas. Over 140,000 student visas were issued, more than in any other country in the world. A quarter of a million Indian students are studying in the United States, the largest number of students to be sent to any country.
Two days ago, the US Consulate in Hyderabad extended the student visa season by two weeks after 10,000 F1 (student visa) slots were booked within five minutes of opening.
What does the future look like for Indians aspiring to move to the US? In an exclusive conversation with News9 Plus Editor Sandeep Unnithan, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said reducing visa waiting time will be a top priority.
What 2024 holds
“We love that the Indians want to come to the United States and we want more Indians to come as well. We know it can be frustrating too. It’s just that this demand in a country, even as large as the United States, can be overwhelming. But to me, this is the lifeblood of our mission here, and one of my priorities. In one year, we reduced the waiting time to nothing for most visa categories. Now, it’s down 75%. So it’s somewhere around a 200-day wait or less, depending on which part of the country you go to,” he said.
But the Ambassador still thinks a 200-day wait time is too long. With increased staff in Hyderabad, more Consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, and other US consulates around the world pitching in whenever required, 2024 could see even lesser wait time for visa processing.
“This year, thanks to the Government of India that’s approving the positions, our new consulate in Hyderabad will add dozens of new people to handle that visa traffic. We’re working more efficiently. Last year, it was 60% more visas with the same number of people. Sometimes, we’re asking posts in other countries to help if they don’t have as much work to help us process some of the applications,” Ambassador Garcetti said.
“In Washington, DC, we have desks working just on India. The biggest news is that we want to open up two more consulates, hopefully, this year in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. In southern India, with Chennai and Hyderabad, where initially they will not process visas, but they will help people prepare for visas. In 10 years, we want to make it much more automated and expand the visa categories as well,” he added.
Putting students interests first
He put to rest students’ worries about not being able to get visa slots even if they’ve secured admission to a University in the US. “The students are stressed out the first day because everybody’s online at the exact minute. Don’t worry, we will have, as we did last year, visa slots for everybody who’s accepted to a school to get their visa and for others that want to come to the US,” he said.
“We’re preparing for the future much more strategically. It’s my promise to work on this till my very last day as an Ambassador,” he added.