After waiting for a long time, Indians dreaming about moving to the US were delighted when the visa appointments in India opened in September last year. But because the demand was high, the waiting time for the visa applications increased significantly, upsetting many.
But according to the US State Department, efforts are being made to reduce the visa interview appointment time in India. Also, the processing of visa applications is recovering faster than predicted. This also includes the first-time tourist visa applications. It is also expected that the visa processing will reach the pre-pandemic levels in the coming year.
Despite the delays, a record number of student visas were issued last year. Nearly 1,25,000 students were able to fulfill their dream of studying in the United States of America. Indian students were issued the most visas compared to any other country in the world.
Also Read: US Student Visa Requirements
Will the number of visa applications get affected after a hike in US visa fee?
It was also recently announced that the visa application fee for certain US visas such as the H-1B and L visas will likely be hiked. However, it is uncertain whether it will affect applications in the future. But this announcement might make people planning to apply for these employment-based visas to prepone their applications.
Layoffs May Affect US Visa Applications
With massive layoffs in the US, people on an H1-B visa who lost their job have almost 60 days to either look for another job or move to another visa category. With this, the applications of EB-5 investor visas are likely to increase. And as this visa category is proposed to have a hike of 204%, people interested will either fast-track their applications or look for an alternative.
It will be interesting to see what effects will the hike in visa application fee have in reducing the visa interview appointment time in India. Are you planning to apply for a visa soon? Comment below and share what’s your take on the recent developments about US visa.
Once your US visa application is accepted, you can book Indian Eagle‘s cheap international flight for traveling without worrying about your budget.
