Delays across categories: Wait for US visa now extends to over a year
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It's not just students—US visa seekers across categories, including business and leisure travellers, are facing mounting hurdles as appointment wait times cross a year in some regions, rescheduling gets tougher, and interviews become more detailed and stringent.New visa appointment availability for some western regions is now stretching to nearly a year and a half or the end of 2026, travel companies and agents familiar with the matter told ET. For North, East and South, this could take around one year.As per new updates on visa changes, from May, if applicants do not appear for their scheduled appointment for the US visa, they will be blocked from booking a new appointment for 120 days, which applies to both interview and interview-waiver appointments. Applicants can reschedule the appointment only once now, effective January 1, 2025, as opposed to twice previously, agents familiar with the matter said.(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)While appointment delays have been there after the Covid-19 pandemic, timelines are now breaching the one-year mark, said Kapil Jain, cofounder and chief executive of Fly Divine Travels. 'Before January, it was taking about 8-9 months to one year for an appointment. You could get it in less than a year. But now that one year timeline is also getting breached. Rejection rates also seem to have gone up, and we know of applicants who got rejected for business and leisure visas despite solid documentation,' he added.Applicants with serious work commitments are flying to Singapore and Thailand for appointments as they are unable to secure appointments on time in India, said Himanshu Patil, director of Kesari Tours and president of the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India. 'We are not hearing of such delays in countries like China where appointments are available in a matter of weeks. Since there is no intervention by the government, we are also helpless. One of my friends flew to Singapore for the visa appointment and thereafter, took a flight for the US from Singapore after getting his visa,' said Patil.'New visas are a challenge. Those days have gone when people used to book a US trip with us before the visa and used to fly in a month's time. We are hearing the US government is cracking down on unscrupulous agents, but we are still hearing of cases where people are paying extra to middlemen to secure appointments,' he added.Mohak Nahta, founder and CEO of visa platform Atlys, said there has been a noticeable uptick in how carefully US visa applications are being reviewed in 2025. 'Many travellers have shared that US visa interviews feel more detailed this year, with officers asking sharper questions about travel plans, timelines and intent,' he said.In a post on X in March this year, the US Embassy in India said the consular team in India was cancelling about 2,000 visa appointments made by bots. In another update in May, it stated that the Department of State was taking steps to impose visa restrictions on owners, executives and senior officials of travel agencies based and operating in India for knowingly facilitating illegal immigration to the US. The names of the agencies could not be ascertained. Queries sent to CGI that provides visa processing support to US embassies and consulates did not elicit a response till the time of going to press on Sunday.There seems to be a greater scrutiny for US visa appointments, said Kartik Batra, founder of travel services provider Travexo. 'Appointment timelines continue being stretched with appointments available one year down the line. As a result, people who have to travel urgently fall prey to unethical practices. A new visa case for business or leisure travel could take one year or more,' he added.
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