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Waiting for US visa? Your approval time depends on your location in India

The wait time to get a visa from US Consulate General in Mumbai and Kolkata is less than a year, but the US Consulate General Chennai takes 680 days to give appointments

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BS Web Team New Delhi
2 min read Last Updated : Mar 24 2023 | 11:47 PM IST
Those applying for the United States B1/B2 visa from Chennai have to wait for more than two years according to an Economic Times report.

The wait time to get a visa from US Consulate General in Mumbai and Kolkata is around less than a year, but the US Consulate General Chennai takes 680 days to give appointments to B1/B2 visa appointments, the report said.

It takes 247 days for the US Embassy in New Delhi to give out visa appointments as they have the shortest waiting time for tourist and business visa appointments, the report said.  

Kolkata takes 78 days to give visas to F-1 students, Mumbai takes 73 days, Delhi takes 74 days and Chennai takes 58 days for the same.

The US has taken several steps to shorten visa wait times for Indians like appointing workers from other departments around the world to visa offices in India, the report said. 

After the coronavirus-related travel restrictions were eased, India was one of the very few countries where applications for US visas saw a major jump.

ET cited Julie Stufft, deputy assistant secretary for consular affairs, who said reducing the wait time was her top priority. Describing it as a "once-in-a-lifetime situation", Stufft said that "It's the first thing I do when I wake up...The visa operations in India are very different from any other country because of the range of visas and the massive demand."

Stufft acknowledged that the wait time is still "too high" in India. But the department had taken steps such as waiving interview requirements for regular travellers and opening other US embassies/consulates to take Indian applicants. "It's not ideal but it's helping people who need to travel urgently," she said, according to ET.

The US Embassy in India processed more than 100,000 applications in the month of January 2023 alone. 

Third Country National (TCN) visa processing is another option for those who cannot afford the wait. 

A Third Country National visa can be obtained from a US consulate from a different country (that is not your home country).

Topics :USAUS VisasBS Web Reports