Steps are being taken to increase staff to reduce visa delays
Our Bureau
New Delhi
The US is increasing staff strength and opening new consulates, to reduce the waiting time for issuance of visas from India, US Ambassador Eric Garcetti said. One consulate was recently opened at Hyderabad. Places to setup are being looked at in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad for new consulates, he said during an interactive session, organized by the Observer Research Foundation here.
“I had a look at the new premises for establishing a consulate at Ahmedabad yesterday. Some more people have already joined the Hyderabad consulate as we are increasing the staff strength in the city,” he said.
Garcetti said the number of US visas being issued in India had increased by one-third in recent weeks and the embassy was likely to issue 10-15% more visas than usual in the current calendar year. He said the delay in issuance of visas was due to the large number of applicants. Other large countries, such as Brazil and Mexico were facing similar issues.
The US Embassy tweeted, “It’s official! As of this month, our India team processed more visa applications in 2013 than in previous year. And we aren’t done yet! We will be serving thousands of students, workers, tourists and more in the coming weeks just in time for the busy holiday travel season. ”
