US To Open Two New Consulates in India

• The United States will open two new consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, to boost people-to-people relationships, a senior White House official said.

• The official said the US issued a record 125,000 visas to Indian students last year.

• Indian students are set to become the largest foreign student community in the United States with a 20 percent increase last year alone, the senior administration official said.

• The United States intends to open new consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. India is likewise welcoming the 2023 opening of its consulate in Seattle and look forward to also announcing a new consulate in the United States.

• The move comes has a big relief to visa applicants, especially students and tech professionals, who form a big chunk of visitors from India. Bengaluru, often termed as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’ has large movements between both the countries by tech professionals and engineers. The city has been demanding the need for a new US Consulate from some time. Reportedly, 70 per cent visitors to the US from South India are from Karnataka.

• The other city, Ahmedabad has emerged as a big outbound tourism hub from the Western India, which also has large number of students travelling from the region to the US.

• The US Department of State is going to launch a pilot to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas later this year, including for Indian nationals with the intent to implement this for an expanded pool, the official said.

• India has five consulates in the US in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, apart from the embassy in Washington.

• The US embassy in New Delhi is one of the largest US diplomatic missions in the world. The embassy coordinates the activities of four consulates – in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad – ensuring that the US-India relationship is strong throughout the country, according to the information on its website.

• India also plans on establishing a mission in Seattle.

• The US Administration is also announced changes to the visa for skilled Indian workers as it is set to introduce in-country renewable H-1B visas, a significant decision that would help thousands of Indian professionals staying in the country to continue with their jobs without the hassle of travelling overseas for the renewal of their work visas.

The US Embassy in India announced that the average wait time for a US visa appointment in India has been reduced by 60 per cent since the start of the year and the Administration is using technology to tackle pent-up demand and other challenges.