NEW DELHI: Applicants for United States non-immigrant visas(NIV )will now require to arrange their interview consultations in their nation of citizenship or legal residency, disallowing a couple of exceptions for locations where Uncle Sam is not performing regular NIV operations.This suggests Indians needing to take a trip to America at a brief notification will no longer have the ability to schedule a fast B1 (organization)/ B2 (traveler) visit date abroad – something they utilized to do throughout Covid-19 when the wait times back home was as high as 3 years due to huge stockpile of applications – if and when a comparable scenario emerges here once again.NIVs consist of those provided for tourist, service, to trainees, momentary employees, and those engaged to wed United States residents.
This is the most recent in a series of modifications made by the Trump routine to visa guidelines.“Effective immediately, the department of state has updated instructions for non-immigrant visa applicants… (they) should schedule visa interview appointments at the US embassy or consulate in their country of nationality or residence,” the state dept stated Saturday. This uses worldwide.The wait time for a B1/B2 interview in India currently is 3 and a half months in Hyderabad and Mumbai; 4 and a half months in Delhi; 5 months in Kolkata and 9 months in Chennai, according to the state dept site.
Leading travel representatives remembered Indians utilized to take a trip to not just close-by nations however even remote ones like Germany for B1/B2 interviews from 2021 when travel resumed post Covid-19. 2 years back, the United States consulate in Frankfurt had actually reserved NIV interview consultations “specifically for Indian applicants” as interview wait duration for B1/B2 visas in India that time was 15-20 months.“Indians would travel to Bangkok, Singapore and even Frankfurt for B1/B2 interviews.
They would stay there for a week to 10 days, get their passport back from the US consulates there and return to India. We have seen H-1B applicants go to places such as Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) as well as Chiang Mai (Thailand),” stated a leading travel representative who did not want to be called.Now, with instant impact, the NIV interview area guideline has actually been altered. The exception: “nationals of countries where the US govt is not conducting routine NIV operations must apply at the designated embassy or consulate, unless their residence is elsewhere”stated the state department.
The designated areas for Russia are Astana and Warsaw, Islamabad for Afghanistan, and Dubai for Iran.In his 2nd presidency, Donald Trump has actually been tightening up visa guidelines. From last Tuesday (Sept 2), all non-immigrant visa candidates – consisting of candidates under the age of 14 and over the age of 79 – “will generally require an in-person interview with a consular officer” disallowing a couple of exceptions, the United States state dept stated in a July 25 upgrade. This exception consists of “applicants renewing a full validity B-1, B-2, B1/B2 visa… within 12 months of the prior visa’s expiration, and who were at least 18-years-old at the time of the prior visa’s issuance.”