Applying For US Travel Visa? Appointment Dates Stretching To 2024 In Indian Cities, Says Report

The waiting time for appointment for visitor visa in the US consulate at New Delhi stands at 582 calendar days while it is 471 days for student, according to the US Department of State travel website

If you have any plans to travel to US, you should know that the visa appointment dates are taking time and may stretch way beyond the expected date. Indian travellers may have to wait until 2024 to successfully book a visitor visa appointment, according to Live Mint report. Many Indians are looking to travel abroad as the Covid restrictions are easing and international flights have resumed operations. However, the average waiting time for a visitor visa to the US is over 500 days i.e. almost one and half year, as per the report. So, if you apply for a visa this August this year an appointment date is expected in 2024.

Time for a US visa appointment in Indian cities

The waiting time for appointment for visitor visa in the US consulate at New Delhi stands at 582 calendar days while it is 471 days for student visas, the report said, citing the US Department of State travel Travel.State.Gov website.

In Mumbai, the average wait time for a US visa appointment comes to 517 Calendar days for a visitor visa and 10 days for a student visa, the Live Mint report noted.

While In Hyderabad, the waiting time is 518 Calendar days for a visitor visa and 479 days for a student visa. In Kolkata, the average wait time is 587 Calendar days for a visitor visa and two 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.

David Bier, associate director of immigration policy at the libertarian Cato Institute told VOA news that the pandemic-induced lockdown of US consulates around the world in the last two years halted visa services. 

“They just stopped doing work during COVID. And that produced what we're seeing now, which is year-plus waits, massive backlogs and all the problems associated with that," the report quoted Bier telling VOA News. Though wait times vary significantly from consulate to consulate, Bier said, “it is the worst it's ever been since 9/11."

Meanwhile, visa application and processing are taking a long time for other countries including UK, Schengen states, Canada etc.

Travel Agents Federation of India joint secretary Anil Kalsi told TOI that European embassies are not even giving appointments for visas. “Sweden is among the rare countries giving appointments. Similarly, one may get an appointment for September-end for Switzerland. VFS has a visa-at-home service for Austrian visas (for an extra charge)," Kalsi was quoted as saying.

For instance, visa processing time in the UK has gone up to four to 10 weeks. Germany has stopped taking permanent stay visas.