Doubled hiring so as to cut back US visa time in India: White House

The Biden administration has doubled the hiring of US Foreign Service personnel so as to cut back US visa time in India and different South Asian nations, stated the White House.

Visa appointment interval on the US missions in India presently runs into greater than 1,000 days. (Representative picture)

By India Today Web Desk: The White House on Thursday stated that the Biden Administration is conscious of the lengthy delays in visa appointments in India and is working to reply to the “significant demand of these visa services” and has additionally elevated the hiring of US Foreign Service personnel.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre instructed reporters whereas responding to a query on the agonizing lengthy visa appointment interval on the US missions in India, which presently runs into greater than 1,000 days.

“We are still working to respond to the significant demand of these visa services,” Jean-Pierre stated and added, “That is something that we will continue to do. We are successfully lowering visa interview wait times, and we’ve doubled our hiring of US Foreign Service personnel to do this important work. Visa processing is recovering faster than projected, and this year we expect to reach pre-pandemic processing levels”.

READ: For India, lastly some excellent news on US visa processing time

Led by Indian American neighborhood chief Ajay Jain Bhaturia, the President’s Advisory Commission advisable the Biden administration to scale back lengthy visa wait occasions to a most of two to 4 weeks in India.

Non-immigrant visa, customer visa (B1/B2), scholar visa (F1/F2), and short-term employee visa (H, L, O, P, Q) appointments with US embassies in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, and different nations, have lengthy backlogs.

In the case of India, it has now crossed greater than 1,000 days leading to hardship to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) households contained in the US and overseas, in addition to main disruptions for college students, companies, and guests.

During its assembly this week, the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, made a set of suggestions to the White House to scale back the rising delay in visa appointment occasions in US embassies globally particularly in India.

The fee additionally advisable that the State Department ought to permit digital interviews and employees from embassies around the globe and US consular employees to assist conduct digital interviews to scale back excessive backlogs.

The State Department ought to rent new full-time officers, short-term employees, contractors, or carry again retired consular officers to clear the backlog at related embassies in Asia which have wait occasions of over a month, advisable the fee.

(With inputs from PTI)

Published On:

Dec 9, 2022