The United States has opened an additional 2,50,000 visa appointments for Indian travellers, including tourists, skilled workers, and students, said the US Embassy in India in a statement on Monday.
The new slots will help hundreds of thousands of Indian applicants take timely interviews, facilitating the travel which is the backbone of the people-to-people ties that underpin the US-India relationship, the Embassy statement said, adding that they have already crossed one million non-immigrant visa applications for the second consecutive year in 2024.
“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 statement said. “We are now focused on bringing families together, connecting businesses, and facilitating tourism,” it noted.
More than 1.2 million Indians have travelled to the US till now in 2024, registering a 35 per cent increase over the same period in 2023, as per records shared by the mission. At least six million Indians already have a non-immigrant visa to visit the US.
Eric Garcetti, US Ambassador to India, had recently stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden have set an ambitious goal to improve and expedite the visa process. “Our consular teams at the embassy and four consulates work tirelessly to ensure that we meet the surging demand,” he said.
Indian students have already become the largest group of international graduate students in the US and make up more than a quarter of the over one million foreign students studying in the US. The US retains its place among the top four destinations preferred by Indian students, besides Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. (IE)
