Applicants have the option to submit their application forms at no charge at any of the five Visa Application Centres
The Embassy of the United States of America in India has streamlined the process for visitor visas (B1/B2) interview waivers in New Delhi.
In a press statement, the Embassy says that the move has been initiated in order to streamline the process. It adds that nevertheless, candidates have the option to submit their application forms at no charge at any of the five Visa Application Centres, namely Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, or New Delhi.
According to the statement, applicants may also, for a fee of INR 850 per application, drop their documents at any of the Document Dropoff Centers located in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Kochi, Jalandhar or Pune.
The Embassy says that due to this consolidation, interview waiver appointments for visitor visas in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai are now extremely limited, however, appointments continue to be readily available in New Delhi for interview waiver eligible applicants applying for a visitor visa.
It says that applicants who have submitted their passports for interview waiver processing may be required to appear in New Delhi, if the Embassy determines that they need to attend an in-person interview.
“Planning to book a visitor visa appointment using our convenient interview waiver process? You might notice something new. As part of our continuing effort to streamline visa processing, we have consolidated B1/B2 interview waiver appointments in New Delhi going forward,” says the US Embassy in India in a post on social media handle X.
The statement adds that Indians now represent one out of every 10 US visa applicants around the world. The US Consular Team in India processed a record 1.4 million US visas in 2023, which is higher than ever, and has brought down the visitor visa appointment wait times by 75 pc.
“In 2023, the US Embassy and Consulates in India processed a record-smashing 1.4 million US visas. Demand across all visa classes was unprecedented, with a 60 pc increase in applications compared to 2022. Indians now represent one out of every ten US visa applicants around the world,” says the statement.
According to reports, B1/B2 in India have rebounded to represent the second-highest number of applications in the US Mission’s history, over 7,00,000. Process improvements and investments in staffing have brought the appointment wait time for visitor visas down from an average of 1,000 days to 250 days around the country with minimal wait time in all categories.
