The long waiting period to secure a US visa has resulted in a harrowing experience for Indians — professionals, students and tourists — whose travel plans are in limbo. Students, for instance, are unsure about their college admissions. Worse, there is no clarity on visa appointment dates
Official US backlog report has pointed out that 409,645 eligible applicants are still awaiting an interview date after the July 2022 appointment scheduling was completed, according to Saurabh Arora, founder and CEO of University Living, a student housing marketplace. The long waiting period to secure a US visa has resulted in a harrowing experience for Indians — professionals, students and tourists — whose travel plans are in limbo. Students, for instance, are unsure about their college admissions. Worse, there is no clarity on visa appointment dates, according to a report from moneycontrol.
To add to the problems, the rising dollar has made the situation worse. The rupee has plunged below the 82 per dollar level after the US Federal Reserve started increasing interest rates to control inflation that has reached multi-decadal highs, making the US an expensive destination for Indians in general.
While students are afraid of missing the start of the academic year, the long waiting period for a US visa has also affected the Indian travel industry. Today, tourists are opting for alternative travel destinations like South East Asia or Europe, said Porus Doctor, partner and consumer industry practice leader at Deloitte India
Currently, the waiting time for students applying for US visas is anywhere between 415 and 444 calendar days, Shivani Mani, head of student financing at GradRight, an education finance startup was quoted saying.
“There are multiple challenges for Indian students applying for a US visa. Booking slots is tedious as there are not enough slots and it is extremely difficult to track new slots. Students spend sleepless nights trying to book visa slots or they end up paying agents without any guarantee of ever getting a slot. On top of that, multiple logins to book a visa slot may also lead to the account being frozen for the next 72 hours,” she said.
While students are afraid of missing the start of the academic year, the long waiting period for a US visa has also affected the Indian travel industry. Today, tourists are opting for alternative travel destinations like South East Asia or Europe, said Porus Doctor, partner and consumer industry practice leader at Deloitte India.
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