Issuance of US visitor visa to be quicker for Indians: US Assistant Secretary
Updated: Feb 23rd, 2024
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| Rena Bitter (Image: IANS) |
The US is working on reducing the time taken for the issuance of the visitor visa for Indians, said Rena Bitter, the US bureau of consular affairs assistant secretary.
Last year, the US reduced the time taken for visitor visas by 75%.
Bitter said in an interview that more Indians are travelling to America today than in the past.
She said that the embassy in India disposed of 1.4 lakh visa applications last year, a significant number.
According to Bitter, the other categories do not have a waiting time, but this one does. The visa issuance especially takes longer for first-time visitors.
She also mentioned the time reduction of 75% since last year, saying that the US is working hard in this direction.
Adding to her point of working hard to reduce the time, Bitter added that the ‘incredibly important’ bilateral relationship between India and the US is underpinned by people-to-people relationships, business travel, and family relationships.
More benefits with H-1B visa
With the H-1B visa, Bitter said that a pilot programme has been started to allow Indians living in the US to renew their H-1B visas without travelling abroad, ending in February.
Indian embassies issued 34% more H-1B visas last year, the highest ever.
