Good news for those applying for US Visa. The US State Department has implemented the recommendations of the Presidential Commission. It was suggested that the visa backlog should be eliminated. Interview for visa should be done as soon as possible. India is one of the countries that has seen a big jump in applications for US visas after travel restrictions related to coronavirus were lifted. 

Ajay Jain Bhutoria of Indian origin living in Silicon Valley had raised this issue before the President's Commission. The commission observed that the delay in visa placement is causing huge problems for students and visitors who plan to study in the US and travel to the country.

The commission has recommended that the State Department should allow virtual interviews where it is felt necessary. To do this, enlist the help of staff from embassies around the world and staff from the US Consulate in conducting interviews at embassies with high backlogs. 

The commission's recommendations also include opening US diplomatic missions outside India for visa appointments, having more counters, and deploying additional resources to process visa applications. The US Embassy in India processed over one lakh applications in January this year. This is their highest number in a month and highest number in any month since July 2019.

The meeting of the Commission was held in December. The President's Commission had held a meeting on this issue in December. In this, the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders recommended several steps to reduce the growing delay in visa appointment times in India and other countries such as Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

1. Additional staff should be deployed in the embassies where there is more backlog.

2. The State Department should hire new full-time officers/counselors or temporary employees or contractors. 

3. Deployed retired consular officers to clear the backlog in embassies in Asia. 

4. The State Department can use staff from other embassies around the world to man embassies in Asian countries with high backlogs. 

The Presidential Commission's Advisory Committee found that in 2012, President Barack Obama issued a memorandum reducing the waiting time from several months to a few days. Through this the system was improved. However, the Trump administration rescinded President Obama's memo. Due to this visa appointments started getting delayed. 

Now the commission has suggested President Joe Biden to reduce the visa appointment waiting time to a maximum of 2-4 weeks for countries with significant backlogs, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other countries in a similar situation. 

India, especially those applying under the B-1 (Business) and B-2 (Tourist) categories are facing difficulties. First time visa applicants have to wait longer. For the first time in India, the waiting period for B-1/B-2 visa applicants was close to three years in October last year.

In January, the State Department not only implemented remote processing of interview waiver cases for applicants with previous US visas, but also launched several initiatives, including scheduling special interviews for first-time applicants and increasing the number of consular staff.