US Official Says More Than A Million Indians To Get Visas This Year: Report

A senior US official has said that the country is on track to issue more than a million visas to Indians this year as they are prioritising work visas.

A senior US official has said that the country is on track to issue more than a million visas to Indians this year as they are prioritising work visas. In an interview with the news agency PTI, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu also said that the Biden administration is committed this summer to make sure it processes all of the student visas for Indians whose school starts this fall.

H-1B's and L visas are the most sought-after by IT professionals from India. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. US Tech giants depend on tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

“We are on track to issue more than a million visas this year. This is a record for us along with a record number of student visas and immigrant visas,” Lu told PTI adding that the US is committed this summer to make sure it processes all of the student visas for Indians whose school starts this fall.

Concerns about the lengthy wait times for first-time visa applicants, particularly those applying under the B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) categories, have grown in India. India is currently the second-largest source of foreign students entering the United States.

“We've also been prioritising work visas: H-1B's and L visas. Wait times at some of our consular sections in India, for these visas are now below 60 days. We will continue to make sure that we prioritise visas for workers, as this is vital for both the American and the Indian economy,” Lu said.

“For certain petition-based nonimmigrant work of visa categories, we plan to restart domestic visa renewal for applicants who meet certain requirements, including being physically present in the United States. We plan to have a pilot up and running later this year. This would eliminate the need for these applicants to travel abroad to renew their visas,” he added.

In response to concerns about Indian IT experts who are on H-1B visas and have lost their jobs, Lu said the Department of Homeland Security recently issued some new material precisely on the issue of what these individuals ought to do if they wish to readjust their status.

India-US relationship enjoys bipartisan support in the US, he said.

“I think part of the answer you can find in a really strong diaspora community in the US. For 30 years or more, our relationship is in part driven by Indian Americans who have lived here for decades, but still keep a very strong tie with India,” he said.

Over a million people fly back and forth between the two countries.

“That's an amazing number given that we're not close at all. It's very expensive to fly back and forth. But those ties of people who moved here or maybe their parents come from India, those ties remain. They haven't been cut by immigration,” he said.