10-month waiting period for visa interview appointment at US embassy, Parliament informed

Minister of State for External Affairs shared data listing the category-wise and embassy or consulate-wise data on the waiting period for a US visa

The government has informed the Parliament that, as of November 20, applicants for US business and tourist visas have to reportedly face an estimated 10-month wait for interview appointments at the embassy.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said that the US Administration has recently announced that every visa adjudication is a national security decision.(Reuters/Representational Image)

The Parliament was informed about the long waiting period for US visa appointments through a written reply by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in the Rajya Sabha.

The Minister of State said the US Administration has recently announced that every visa adjudication is a national security decision, news agency PTI reported.

He told the the parliament that, as of November 20, applicants for US business and tourist visas have to reportedly face an estimated 10-month wait for interview appointments at the embassy. The minister further informed that the US administration has expanded vetting procedures to identify inadmissible applicants, which is also impacting the waiting period.

Singh said that the US Administration has recently announced that every visa adjudication is a national security decision. He also shared data in tabulated form listing the category-wise and embassy or consulate-wise data on waiting period for a US visa, across several categories of visa.

The minister informed that the US State Department website provides the category-wise and embassy-wise data.

He said that as of November 20, the “predicted waiting period” for the interview appointments in India for business (B1) or tourist visa (B2) category is 10 months. According to Singh, for student visa (F visa), non-academic visa (M) and exchange visitor visa (J), the wait times are 0.5 months.

Talking about the waiting period of interview appointment for different places, Singh noted that the periods for B1 and B2 visa categories in Kolkata are 5 months, 9.5 months in Mumbai, 5 months in Hyderabad and 3 months in Chennai.

For other visas, including F, M, J visas, the corresponding waiting periods are 2.5 months for Kolkata, 3 months for Mumbai, 2.5 months for Hyderabad and 2 months for Chennai.

The waiting period for the rest of the visa categories, including H (speciality occupations), L (intracompany transfer), and P (athletes or artists), was not available at Kolkata. While the corresponding figures for other consulates were Mumbai (1 month), Hyderabad (2 months) and Chennai (1 month).

According to Singh US recently announced that "every visa adjudication is a national security decision". They said that the country will ensure that the applicants do not intend to harm Americans or the US national interest. The US has said that "Applicants will need to credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission," the minister was quoted as saying.

US expanded screening to identify inadmissible applicants

Singh further informed the parliament that the US administration has expanded its screening and vetting procedures to identify those applicants who are inadmissible to the United States.

Since this rule applies to F, M, J non-immigrant classifications, as well as H-1B applicants and their dependents, this is impacting the visa appointment schedules.

“Visa issuance and the related policy and procedural frameworks are the sovereign prerogative of the concerned country,” Singh reportedly said. He also added that the Indian government is engaging with the US to promote mutually advantageous and mobility frameworks for applicants.

(With inputs from PTI)