Blinken did not provide details of the plan, but said it would play out in the coming months
PRAVASISAMWAD.COM
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on September 27 said that the Covid-19 pandemic was responsible for the backlog of visa applications from Indian nationals. He assured that the US States had a plan to tackle the problem, reported Reuters. Blinken did not provide details of the plan, but said it would play out in the coming months. Later, in a briefing later, Blinken said he was “extremely sensitive” to the issue.
US visa applicants in India have often had to wait for over a year for an appointment. The US Embassy in India said on September 27 that while visa appointments were open for all categories, wait times remained “significantly” high due to high demand. The visa backlog has led to some families being separated for extended periods of time, with some taking to social media to lament their situation.
The US Secretary’s comments on the visa issue came as he met Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar. The two discussed the challenges that Indians have been facing in receiving visas to work and live in the United States.
“There have been some challenges of late, and I flagged it to Secretary Blinken and his team, and I have every confidence that they will look at some of these problems seriously and positively.”
— S Jaishankar, Indian Foreign Minister
Reuters reported that US visa services were attempting to clear a backlog after Washington halted almost all visa processing worldwide in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Although other nationalities have also been affected, Indians make up a large proportion of the recipients of H-1B and other work visas granted to skilled foreign workers.
“On mobility, specifically visas, this is particularly crucial, given its centrality to education, business, technology and family reunions,” Jaishankar said in a joint press briefing with Blinken after the September 27 meeting. He also pointed out, “There have been some challenges of late, and I flagged it to Secretary Blinken and his team, and I have every confidence that they will look at some of these problems seriously and positively.”
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