‘Indians now represent over 10% of all US visa applicants worldwide; 20% & 65% for all student & employment categories’

NEW DELHI: In a first for India, the US Embassy here said it has processed over 10 lakh non-immigrant visa applications so far this year. This is almost 20% more than the numbers processed in pre-Covid 2019 and 2022.
The embassy says “Indians now represent over 10% of all visa applicants worldwide, including 20% of all student visa applicants and 65% of all H & L category (employment) visa applicants,” while welcoming this growth.
Early next year, the US embassy says it plans to implement a pilot program that would allow domestic visa renewal for qualified H & L category employment visa applicants. Last year over 12 lakh Indians visited the US.
US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said: “Our partnership with India is one of the United States’ most important bilateral relationships, and in fact one of the most important relationships in the world. The ties between our people are stronger than ever, and we will continue our record-setting volume of visa work in the coming months to give as many Indian applicants as possible the opportunity to travel to the United States and experience the US-India friendship firsthand.”
The wait period for B1/B2 visitor visa applicant in India is still about 1.5 years, though much lower than the almost three years it had touched last winter. The embassy has taken a series of steps to bring down the wait time.
“Recognising the continued high demand for US visas, the United States continues to invest heavily in our operations in India. In the past year, the mission has expanded its staffing to facilitate more visa processing than ever before. The Mission has made significant capital improvements to existing facilities, such as the U.S. Consulate in Chennai, and has inaugurated a new Consulate building in Hyderabad,” the embassy said Thursday.
The mission has also implemented strategies to increase efficiency, extending interview waiver eligibility to new visa categories and utilising remote work to allow staff around the world to contribute to Indian visa processing. “As noted in the Joint Statement issued by Prime Minister Modi and President Biden during the President’s recent visit to India, the United States and India share a ‘close and enduring’ partnership. Improved visa processing is only one example of the US Mission to India’s ongoing commitment to strengthening that partnership,” the US embassy statement said.
“People to people ties between our countries are stronger than ever. We’re celebrating a historic year for the US-India partnership, as we proudly reach the 1 million visa milestone! To every single one of those million applicants, a heartfelt thank you for being a part of the incredible US-India story,” US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said on X (former Twitter) on Thursday.