New Delhi: Applicants have to wait for more than a year to fulfill their dream of getting a US visa. This situation affects not only students but also businessmen, tourists, and people from other sectors. In some regions, the appointment wait time exceeds one year. Rescheduling has become more difficult. Interviews are now conducted with very detailed and tougher questions. People from western parts of the country have to wait for about a year and a half or until the end of 2026 to get a visa appointment. Meanwhile, those from northern, southern, and eastern parts usually get appointments within about a year.
According to rules effective from May, if an applicant fails to attend their scheduled US visa appointment, they cannot book a new appointment for up to 120 days. This applies to both interview and interview-waiver appointments. From January 1, a new rule states that applicants can reschedule their appointment only once, whereas earlier, rescheduling twice was allowed.
Travel agency representatives said appointment delays have been normal since the COVID-19 pandemic, but now the wait time has exceeded one year. Earlier, it took about 8-9 months or up to a year to get a visa, but now it goes beyond a year with increased rejections. Even applicants with all proper documents face rejections for business and leisure visas. People who must travel to the US are trying to get appointments in places like Singapore and Thailand due to lack of availability in India. They also noted that countries like China do not have such delays and appointments are available in a few weeks. They expressed helplessness due to government inaction. Travel agents stated that the days of easily getting a US visa are over, as tourists now book their trips before getting visas and lose their planned travel dates. While the US government is cracking down on unethical agents, many still pay large sums to middlemen for visa appointments. Applicants face tough questions during interviews, including about their travel plans, duration of stay, and purpose of visit.
