New Delhi: The United States has waived in-person interview requirements for many visa applicants at its diplomatic missions in India through December 31 this year.
A senior American diplomat has told Indian community leaders that the exempted categories include students and workers, news agency PTI reported.
"This is much-needed support to visa applicants. This would be very helpful to our friends and immediate family members and remove a lot of their concerns and remove inconveniences," Ajay Jain Bhutoria, South Asian Community Leader and US President Joe Biden's Advisor for Asian Americans said.
The statement came after his meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for South Central Asia, Donal Lu, PTI reported.
Donal Lu informed that through December 31, of this year, the US Department of State is authorised to waive in-person interview requirements for certain applicants and their qualifying derivatives in various non-immigrant visa classifications.
Key Points On Eligibility:
- Categories of applicants eligible for the waiver include students (F, M, and academic J visas), workers (H-1, H-2, H-3, and individual L visas), Culture and extraordinary ability (O, P, and Q visas).
- To be eligible for the expanded interview waiver programme, applicants seeking these visa classifications must have previously been issued any category of US visa.
- The applicants must have never been refused a US visa, and have no indication of ineligibility or potential visa ineligibility.
- According to the State Department, they also need to be a resident or national of the country in which they are applying; among others, PTI reported.
The US embassy in New Delhi and its consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai will release more than 20,000 additional waiver (dropbox) appointments for Spring 2022 so that qualified applicants are able to use the new interview waiver authority, a notice on the website of the US Embassy in New Delhi informed.
During the aforementioned meeting, Ajay Bhutoria held a discussion with Donal Lu on increasing people-to-people relationships between the US and India. He stressed the importance of both the US and India working closely together in South Central Asia.
Both India and the US are strong democracies and share democratic values and provide leadership in the Asia Pacific region, Biden's Advisor for Asian Americans said.
They also discussed the immense contribution made by the Indian American diaspora and their influential role in digital economic growth, startups and establishing businesses and companies, and contributing to the growth of the US economy.
(With Agency Inputs)