US adds 2.5 lakh new visa slots for Indians

The US Mission in India has opened an additional 250,000 visa appointments for Indian travellers, including tourists, skilled workers and students, officials said on Monday.   The recently released new slots will help Indian applicants take timely interviews, facilitating the travel which is the backbone of the people-to-people ties that underpin the US-India relationship, they said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden set an ambitious goal to improve and expedite the visa process and I am proud to say that we have delivered on that promise. Our consular teams at the embassy and four consulates work tirelessly to ensure that we meet the surging demand," said US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.

More than 1.2 million Indians have travelled to the United States in 2024, a 35 per cent increase over the same period in 2023. 


"The US Mission to India has already surpassed one million nonimmigrant visa applications for the second consecutive year. 

"During our student visa season this summer, we continued to process record numbers, and all first-time student applicants were able to obtain an appointment at one of our five consular sections around India," the US Embassy said in a statement here.

  "We are now focused on bringing families together, connecting businesses, and facilitating tourism. At least six million Indians already have a nonimmigrant visa to visit the United States, and each day, the Mission issues thousands more," it added.

US visa waiting time

Post Covid there has been a surge in visa applications - across all categories - and the US has been taking all steps since late 2021 to cut the waiting period for interviews. But the sheer volumes mean a waiting period of over a year for interview required visitor visa in many US missions here -- a sharp improvement of almost 3 years seen in end of 2021.

In 2023, the US issued over 1.4 lakh student visas to Indians, which is more than in any other country in the world, also setting a record for the third year in a row, according to the figures released by the US Embassy and Consulates in India earlier this year.