India number one priority for US Visa, wait time to be decreased: US officials

India has become United States' number one priority, said US Visa officials on Tuesday addressing a media conference organised by Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies, reported ANI. Around a 36% rise has been seen in visa processing across the country after the Coronavirus Pandemic. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services in the Bureau of Consular Affairs Julie Stufft: "India is the number one priority that we are facing right now. We are absolutely committed to getting out of this situation. Anyone in India seeking a visa appointment or visa have to wait for that's not certainly our ideal." Further, she added: "So far this year, we have issued 36% more visas than we did before the COVID pandemic in India. And that is a huge percentage of progress."

Wait time will reduce for Indian applicants: US officials 

While talking about the US' visa priorities, Julie Stufft announced that the US would start the Visa stamping programme domestically within the US for visa renewals, including H-1 and L-1 Visa, in the coming fall. The US officials have been working to speed up domestic visa revalidation in certain categories on a pilot basis. She also acknowledged the difficulties that are being faced by the applicants and asserted that the department has been working on its interview waiver process for some temporary workers, students, and academic exchange visitors. Further, she noted: "All the non-visitor time or student-visa have very very low wait times and that's really key. Our H-1B and F student's wait time were just as high almost six months ago and so we brought down the wait time." 

For India specifically, US officials have asked US embassies to take on Indian visa applicants if they choose to travel there. To accomplish this, the US Mission in India has launched the first in a series of special Saturday interview days on January 21. This would reduce wait times for first-time visa applicants. US Embassy in New Delhi and Consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad have also opened consular operations on Saturday to accommodate applicants who require in-person visa interviews. Meanwhile, Deputy Assistant Secretary for India, Nancy Jackson said that the India-US relationship has been embracing the people-to-people relationship. 

"As I look at the relationship it strikes me that people-to-people ties between our two nations are really the bedrock of what is one of the most consequential relationships in the world and that is the India-US relationship. And we can't underscore that enough and so addressing the view wait time that we were facing is critical. Not only to maintain these people-to-people ties but also to expand in that space. So because of that, this issue remains a top priority," said Nancy Jackson.