US surpasses goal of processing one million non-immigrant visa applications in India in 2023

The US Mission to India has reached and surpassed its goal to process one million non-immigrant visa applications in 2023, according to a statement issued by the Mission on its website in.usembassy.gov.The Mission has already surpassed the total number of cases processed in 2022 and is processing almost 20 per cent more applications than in pre-pandemic 2019, added the statement.“Our partnership with India is one of the United States’ most important bilateral relationships, and in fact one of the most important relationships in the world.  The ties between our people are stronger than ever, and we will continue our record-setting volume of visa work in the coming months to give as many Indian applicants as possible the opportunity to travel to the United States and experience the US-India friendship firsthand,” said US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.According to the statement, last year over 1.2 million Indians visited the United States, making this one of the most robust travel relationships in the world.Indians now represent over 10 per cent of all visa applicants worldwide, including 20 per cent of all student visa applicants and 65 per cent of all H&L-category (employment) visa applicants."The United States welcomes this growth," added the statement.Recognising the continued high demand for visas, the United States continues to invest heavily in operations in India."In the past year, the Mission has expanded its staffing to facilitate more visa processing than ever before.  The Mission has made significant capital improvements to existing facilities, such as the US Consulate in Chennai, and has inaugurated a new Consulate building in Hyderabad," the statement read.The Mission has also implemented strategies to increase efficiency, extending interview waiver eligibility to new visa categories and utilizing remote work to allow staff around the world to contribute to Indian visa processing.Early next year, the Mission plans to implement a pilot program that would allow domestic visa renewal for qualified H&L-category employment visa applicants.As noted in the Joint Statement issued by Prime Minister Modi and President Joe Biden during the President’s recent visit to India, the US and India share a “close and enduring” partnership."Improved visa processing is only one example of the US Mission to India’s ongoing commitment to strengthening that partnership," added the statement.Following the pandemic, Indians have gained a lot of attention for being the biggest globetrotters, garnering a number of visas for several key destinations.Despite the extremely long wait for visa issuance and the excessively expensive airfare, Indians are still travelling to the US in large numbers.With inputs from agencies