The United States embassy in India has launched an initiative that will reduce visa processing time for Indians who are applying for US visas for the first time.
This is in an effort to ease the visa application process for Indians and reduce instances of the accumulated backlog of Indian applications to the United States.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been cases of incredibly long waiting periods for visa processing in the United States embassy in Mumbai.
As a part of the initiative, there will be special visa interviews on Saturdays for those who are required to go for in-person visa interviews, with additional staff on the ground to speed up the visa process.
Applicants with previous US visas no longer need to do the in-person interviews. The new visa processing initiative will remotely process these applications.
The consulate in Mumbai will also extend their weekday working hours to accommodate more visa appointments for applicants from Mumbai.
Those applying for student visas, H and L category visas, H-1B visas, B-1 business visas, B-2 tourist visas, and crews of shipping companies and airlines, will benefit from this new initiative.
The United States is one of the most popular travel destinations worldwide. Every year, the country’s famous cities, national parks, and entertainment options attract millions of visitors from around the globe. This annual influx of visitors and tourists causes a boost in annual U.S. travel spending. In 2021 alone, the travel and tourism industry contributed nearly 900 billion U.S. dollars to the country’s GDP.
