The US has gone back to its pre-Covid policy regarding visa renewals. Many applicants in India may now face a longer wait.
In November 2022, the US increased the eligibility for same-class drop box visa renewals (which don’t require an interview) from 12 months to 48 months. This change came after the waiting period for B1/B2 (business and tourism) visa interviews in India had exceeded 999 days or over three years.
The waiting time for a B1/B2 interview has since been half: over 440 days in Delhi and Mumbai, 436 in Chennai, 429 in Hyderabad, and 415 in Kolkata. Given the lengthy wait, fewer drop box renewals will allow more people to reapply for appointments for same-class visa renewals, lengthening the overall procedure.
Travel agents believe this change would make travel to the US more difficult for those who had been depending on the drop box option. It is thought that many people were caught off guard by the immediate effect of the policy shift, especially considering that interview dates were already unavailable without a long wait.
Under certain conditions, repeat travellers to the US can renew their visas without an interview. The US visa waiver checklist for applicants (excluding those aged 14 and under or 80 and above) includes criteria such as being a citizen or lawful resident of India or Bhutan, having a previous visa in the same class, and ensuring that the prior visa is either still valid or expired within the last 12 months.
Despite a rise in India-US travel post-Covid, the travel industry has cited the impediments of long visa interview wait times and restricted direct flights owing to US airlines not using Russian airspace.
Last year, Indians travelling to the US exceeded 17.6 lakhs recorded in 2023, which surpassed the pre-Covid 2019 high of 14.7 lakhs. India has now become the second-largest overseas source of international visitors to the US after the UK.
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