US Aims to Process 1 Million B1 & B2 Visas of Indian Applicants in 2023

• Almost a month after opening up visa slots for Indian citizens over the weekends,  As the United States announced its target to process over 1 million non-immigrant visa applications in India in 2023.
• The US Department of Commerce also issued the latest data which shows Indians were the third-largest overseas visitors in the US, last year. At over 14 lakhs, Indians were the third largest overseas visitors in the US in 2022.
  

US is taking steps to fast forward the process

• US authorities have also undertaken several steps to cut down the waiting period for interviews. The period for visitors has already gone down from three years to two years. 
• Currently, 1000 interviews are being performed every day for B1 (business visa) and B2 (tourist visa) visitor visa interview cases.         
• The changes also include making more applicants eligible for interview waivers, sending drop box cases abroad for adjudication and getting more temporary staffers.
• The embassy and consulates in India have already processed over two lakh visa applications so far this year. Last year, the US department of state processed about ninety lakh non-immigrant visa applications worldwide.
  
  

Increasing number of Indians travelling to the US

• Following the pandemic, Indians have gained a lot of attention for being the biggest globetrotters, garnering a number of visas for several key destinations.
• The number of Indians traveling to the US is increasing day by day despite the long wait times during the pandemic and the expensive airfares.

In 2022, the top two countries with overseas visitors in the US were the UK, with 34.2 lakh visitors, followed by Germany, with 15 lakh visitors.