US visa slots are finally open after 2 years of pause, but due to the high number of applicants, there will be a long wait. Indian applicants will have to wait over 2 years just to get a US visa appointment. On the other hand, there is only a two day wait for countries like China, as mentioned on the US Government website.
US Visa Appointment Slots 2022 Opened
“Visa appointments are now open for all categories! But because of high demand, wait times remain significant. Join us Thursday, Sept 29 at 3 pm IST on U.S. Embassy India’s Facebook & Instagram pages for a candid chat with our Minister Counsellor for Consular Affairs, Don Heflin”, tweeted U.S Embassy India.
US Visa: 2 Years of Wait For Indians And 2 Days For Applicants From China
To be exact, there is a wait of 833 days for the Delhi applicants to get a US visitor visa appointment, and 848 days for the applicants of Mumbai, as per the US Government’s website.
On the other hand, the wait for US visa applicants from Beijing is 2 days and from Islamabad is 450 days.
As for the student visas, the wait for applicants applying from Delhi and Mumbai is 430 days. And the most surprising thing is that the waiting time for Islamabad is just one day and for Beijing is two days.
After noting the matter, S Jaishankar, Foreign Minister, who is currently in the US, raised the concern over the visa application backlogs with Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State. The US diplomat replied that this matter is “extremely sensitive” and they are witnessing a very similar issue around the world, due to COVID.
“I think you’ll see that play out in the coming months, but it’s something that we’re very focused on,” said Blinken.
“The backlog is due to a reduction in the staff handling the visa process due to lesser applications during the pandemic”.
“A surge in applications for both student and tourist visas during the post-Covid period led to the backlog as they didn’t have adequate staff,” explained.
“By prioritizing students this summer to ensure they arrived at school on time, we were able to issue a record of over 82,000 student visas. As a result, more Indian students are headed to the US this year than from any other country,” they informed.
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“New officers are being hired and trained, and consular facilities are being upgraded while a newly expanded facility is set to open in Hyderabad in coming months”, said Blinken
