When it comes to US Visas for tourism or business, it has been a messy few years since COVID-19. The Consulates in India ended up cutting staff and sent them back to the US, and since then, it has seen up to 1000 days (3 years or more) of wait times in November 2022 when you wanted a Visa Appointment where an interview was needed (for a B1/B2 Visa). Dropbox Visa applications (renewals) have been a more straightforward and quicker story.

Since the US does not have many exemptions regarding where one can qualify for an urgent Visa appointment, many people have not been able to head to the US over the years and missed important life events with their family members.

US opens 2.5 Lakh new appointments for B1/B2 Visas.

As per the US Embassy in India, 250,000 new appointments were added for B1/B2 Visa Interviews over the weekend.

Consequently, waiting times have dropped significantly for a new US Visa appointment. As per the global estimates for US Visa Wait times published on the State Department website, the US Visa Appointment wait estimate in India last week was:

• Mumbai: 596 Days
• Kolkata: 539 Days
• New Delhi: 542 Days
• Chennai: 531 Days
• Hyderabad: 511 Days

These numbers look much better now, with Delhi only looking like you need 37 days for an appointment.

Mumbai drops from 596 days to 32 days.

Mumbai drops from 539 days to 62 days.

New Delhi drops from 542 days to 8 days.

Chennai drops from 531 days to 25 days.

Hyderabad drops from 511 days to 7 days.

The screen grabs were taken just a few minutes before I wrote this post, and I think they are updated daily, but if you are looking for an appointment in India for a B1/B2 US Visa, you should be heading to the website right now to get those appointments. Or else, you can head to Frankfurt or Bangkok, some of the other cities where Indians can go and get their US Visa B1/B2 processed for now.

Remember, you only need an appointment if you have a fresh Visa application. For renewals of Visas that are up to four years old, you need to submit your passport and a photo under a Dropbox appointment, and you will get a new sticker on your passport within a week of sending it over for processing.

Bottomline

The US Visa woes might just be getting done with, as the US announced that it has unlocked a whole bunch of new appointments, and on its website has displayed a drastic reduction in wait times for a US Visa appointment (from almost 1.5 years) to two weeks in some cases. If you need a US Visa Appointment, you should check the website for an appointment now.

Have you had success with a B1/B2 US Visa appointment in India recently?

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