“We have opened a number of B1/B2 interview waiver meetings for next month in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai,” the US Embassy in India said in a tweet on Monday.
Looking for an appointment for a B1/B2 visa (dropbox)? Good news! We have opened a number of B1/B2 interviews… https://t.co/E6hVlFHWg7
— US Embassy in India (@USAndIndia) 1669620767000
The current waiting time for B1/B2 interview waiver appointment is 233 days in Delhi, 297 in Mumbai and 171 days in Chennai.
Applicants opt into the interview waiver program if they extend any visa (including B1/B2 visas) within 48 months of expiration.
For those applying for business (B-1) and tourist (B-2) visas for the first time, the wait time has reached nearly three years, for those who do not qualify for an interview waiver.
The US State Department said on Tuesday that “the global average wait time for a tourist (B1/B2) visa interview appointment is less than two months as of this month.”
To address the growing backlog, the U.S. has allowed more applicants to be eligible to waive interviews, send in-box cases overseas for adjudication and hire temporary workers.
While students have top priority during admissions season, next on the list is expedited caseloading for skilled workers, repeat B1/B2 visa applicants (whose visas have expired within four years of application, making them now eligible for an interview waiver) and staff . It may be several months before the B1/B2 interview waiting time starts to decrease.
The United States expects processing times to recover faster than projected and expects to reach pre-pandemic levels in fiscal year 2023.
ET online