US Ambassador to New Delhi, Eric Garcetti, announced today, Monday, November 20, that the United States is accelerating the visa issuance process in India, states a report by IANS. According to the report, the effort involves increasing staff at the Hyderabad consulate and establishing new consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.
Garcetti revealed to IANS, "Some more people have already joined the Hyderabad consulate as we are increasing the staff strength in the city and premises are being taken up in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad for setting up new consulates."
During his visit to Ahmedabad to witness the India-Australia World Cup cricket final on Sunday, November 19, Garcetti inspected the new premises earmarked for the consulate in Ahmedabad, he said. He also said that the number of US visas that were being issued in India had gone up by one-third in recent weeks as part of the stepped up drive to clear the backlog.
Garcetti acknowledged the improved processing times for US visas, particularly for students and tourists, with waiting periods ranging from six months to a year depending on the application office. Despite challenges posed by a surge in applicants, he assured that the US was focused on prioritising and expediting visas for Indian nationals, reports IANS.
He also said that the problem of delay was due to the large number of applicants that was on the rise so it was difficult to spell out the exact time lag. This problem was also present in other large countries like Brazil and Mexico, he added.
