Visa interview within regular time, says US Consulate in Mumbai

Indians who want to fly to the US will be happy to hear this. The visa delay caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has been cleared up, according to the US Consulate General in Mumbai. This means that applicants can now make reservations for immigration visa interviews within the normal time limit.

After the Covid pandemic, people who wanted to get immigrant visas had to wait more than two years for an interview. But now, people who want to get an immigrant visa and whose requests are current (that is, visas are available and they are ready to make an appointment) can do so within the normal time window.

In a news statement, the Consulate General said that the change would make it easier for families to get back together in the United States.

The release said that the power and vigour of US-India relations were shown by the high demand for US visas in India and the growth of people-to-people links.

It also said that over 9 lakh NIV forms are being processed right now and that the number of visas will soon go over 1 million.

Earlier, Eric Garcetti, the U.S. ambassador to India, set a goal of receiving at least one million cards by 2023. He had said that the time it takes to get a vacation ticket for the first time has been cut by more than 50%.

The US Ambassador also said that they will keep putting money into growing the visa operations and adding more people to the team. The envoy had said, "We'll find creative ways to speed up the visa process, like cutting down on the need for in-person interviews, so that consular teams around the world can help process visas for the growing number of Indian travellers."

India and the US are doing everything they can to make it easy to get a visa. During his recent trip to the US, PM Modi told the Indian people there that Indian workers can update their work cards without leaving the country.

"New consulates for the United States will open in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. "It has been decided that H1B visas can now be renewed in the US," PM Modi told the Indian community at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC.