According to the US Department of State Travel.State.Gov website, the average wait for a visa appointment in the US consulate at New Delhi is 522 days for visitor visas and 471 days for student visas.
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Wait for over 2 years
In Mumbai too, the average wait time for a US visa appointment is 517 days for a visitor visa and 10 days for a student visa.
This means if you apply for a visa this month then the appointment date is expected by 2024.
The number of applicants waiting for a US visa interview slot has now topped 4 lakhs, same as those from Canada that is seeing a backlog of over 20 lakhs.
Schengen visa applicants do not fare any better.
Increasing staff to handle workload
The Times of India reports that the US embassy is working on cutting waiting time.
An official said that they are trying to cut the waiting period by increasing consular staff and prioritising certain types of visas.
Other embassies too acknowledged the long wait time, but said the spike in applications is proportional to the number of visas granted post the pandemic.
Canada
A Canadian high commission spokesperson was quoted saying that despite the pandemic the country welcomed over 4 lakh new permanent residents in 2021 of which 32% were Indians.
Canada currently has a waiting time of 158 days for visitor visas.
“This processing time does not include the time it takes to send an application between a visa application centre and our office and the time you need to give your biometrics.”
City-wise waiting periods
The appointment for visitor visa in the US consulate at
- New Delhi is 582 calendar days and 471 days for student visas
- In Mumbai, the average wait time for a US visa appointment is 517 Calendar days for a visitor visa and 10 days for a student visa
- In Hyderabad, the average wait time for a US visa appointment is 518 Calendar days for a visitor visa and 479 days for a student visa
- In Kolkata, the average wait time for a US visa appointment is 587 Calendar days for a visitor visa and 2 days for a student visa
- In Chennai, the average wait time for a US visa appointment is 513 Calendar days for a visitor visa and 8 days for a student visa.
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