‘US working to reduce visitor visa wait time for Indians’

The United States is working towards further reducing the wait time for visitor visas for Indians following a decrease of 75 per cent last year, according to US Bureau of Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Rena Bitter.

Bitter noted that today more Indians can travel to the United States than in any other time in history.

“Last year, the Embassy in India processed 1.4 million visas, an explosion of an incredible number...in every category there is no wait time at all except in one area of travel where there is still some wait time and that is people travelling for the first time to the United States for tourism,” she said.

“It has been reduced 75 per cent over the last year and we are working really hard on this. We recognise that it is an incredibly important bilateral relationship and the foundation of the relationship is the people-to-people ties, the business travel and the family ties,” she added.

Asked about the plans for H1B visa, Bitter said the pilot programme which is underway to permit Indians living in the US to renew their H1B visa without travelling abroad will conclude in February.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries such as India and China.

The pilot programme was started months after the White House announced the plan during the state visit of Prime Minister Modi in June last year.