US takes several measures to cut Visa wait for Indians

The United States has taken multiple initiatives for cutting US Visa wait times for Indians including interview waivers and H-1B stamping. This is even while the US Visa officials restated that India remains the number 1 priority. As a result wait times for US Visas have steadily begun to ease inclusive of Tourist visas for the USA from India.

Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Services Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie Stufft said that India is the top priority for the US now. This was in a media interaction held by Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies.

Julie Stufft elaborated that the US is totally committed to coming out of these circumstances. If anyone in India has to seek an appointment for Visa or has to wait for Visa, that is definitely not our best. Till now in 2023 we have offered 36% additional US Visas in comparison with the pre-pandemic times in India, she added. This is a great volume of growth, said Stufft.

The diverse measures being taken by the US for cutting Indians’ US Visa wait times are as follows:

• The US will begin to stamp Visas domestically from the US for Vis renewals this fall including L-1 and H-1. The pilot will start this summer and will include people or worker status. So it means H, L, and I Visas will be included.
• Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Services will also be extending its waiver for interviews for select students, temporary workers, and academic exchange visitors.? All the Non-visitor Visas or Study Visas have very low wait times and this is ideal for the Department. The H-1B Visa and F-Student Visa wait times were high 6 months earlier and these how now declined.
• Applicants from India seeking to travel to another nation for business can apply for a US Visa. Some examples are nations like Germany and Thailand. The Department has launched other missions and it is actually exceptional. Other US Embassies have been asked to process Visa applications from India especially if they opt for traveling to that nation.
• On 21 January 2023, the US Mission in India introduced for the first time a series of special interview days on Saturdays for reducing the wait time for applicants filing their Visa applications the first time. The New Delhi US Embassy and Consulates in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai all carried out Consular functions on Saturday. It was to accommodate applicants who need Visa-interviews in person.
• The US Mission has said that it will continue opening extra slots for appointments that will be scheduled on chosen Saturdays. This is as per the statement issued by the US Embassy in India. The extra interview days are among the initiatives taken for addressing the Visa processing delays due to the pandemic.

1.49 lakhs unlawful Indian immigrants detained from 2019: US data

Around 1.49 lakh Indians have been caught attempting to arrive in the US unlawfully during the period February 2019 to March 2023. This data has been revealed by the USCBP - US Customs and Border Protection. It reveals a grim reality that the ‘American Dream’ remains alluring for asylum seekers from India in spite of many casualties in risky border crossings.

?A Police Officer from Gujarat has said that the majority of these detainees are from Punjab and Gujarat.

Around 5,459 Indians were held arriving unlawfully at the US in January 2022. Out of them, 708 were caught along the Canada-US border. In January 2023, these figures increased to 7,421, rising by 35.9% inclusive of 2,478 detentions done at the Canada-US border.

2,663 attempts by Indians for border crossings resulted in detentions either from Mexico in the South or Canada in the North. Indians account for only 2% of the detainees attempting to arrive illegally in the US. However, only a few faced deportation as per the Gujarat Police and Indian agencies. Many receive refuge on a humanitarian basis.

As per the UN data, the US is the most renowned destination for asylum-seekers globally since 2017. Even the ones who lose legally in Courts can remain for years while their cases navigate through the system that is heavily backlogged. Many others are not that lucky.

Gujarat Police have been taking stringent action against organized human trafficking groups operational in the state. It is after a 4 member-family from Dingucha village located 44 km from Ahmadabad died having been frozen on the US-Canada border. It was after these were reportedly alienated in a snowstorm from a bigger group of Indians that arrived in the US in January 2022 at -35 Degree Celsius.

To apply for US Work Visa or Tourist Visa for USA from India contact Immigration Experts at Nationwide Visas the Best Immigration Consultants in Hyderabad.