The US embassy in India has opened an additional 250,000 visa appointments to meet growing demand from Indian tourists, skilled workers and students.
The announcement comes as more than 1.2 million Indians have travelled to the US so far in 2024, a 35% increase on the same period in 2023.
“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 US embassy in India wrote.
At least six million Indian citizens currently have a non-immigrant visa to visit the US, with over 140,000 study visas issued to US-bound Indian students in 2023 and record numbers expected for 2024.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden set an ambitious goal to improve and expedite the visa process and I’m proud to say that we have delivered on that promise,” said Eric Garcetti, US ambassador to India.
India became the number one source of international students in the US for the second year in 2024, according to Garcetti, speaking at the annual IC3 conference in Delhi last month.
As India and the US strengthen their diplomatic relations, Garcetti added that the US was also aiming to send more of its students to India.
All first-time student applicants were able to obtain an appointment at one of our five consular sections around India
US Embassy in India
The US Department of State frequently updates data on global visa wait times, with Dhaka, Bangladesh currently experiencing the longest wait times of up to 265 days, as of September 2024.
Embassies in India, which were experiencing estimated wait times of 245 days in 2022, are now recording wait times of 56 and 70 days respectively in New Delhi and Mumbai, yet these often fluctuate and were down to less than four weeks earlier this year.
Wait times are largely dependent on staffing at US consulates, with consular officers examining visa overstay rates and economic growth rates for different countries.
In 2022, US Homeland Security data revealed visa overstay rates with Ghana at 18% and Nigeria at 20% in comparison to India’s overstay rate of 3%.
The US has also expanded its visa services in the Philippines, opening a new Visa Application Centre with an updated online appointment system on September 28.
As of 2022/23 there were 3,818 students from the Philippines studying in the US, according to Open Doors data.