Now Indians can apply for US visas outside country

NEW DELHI: With the appointment-waiting period for a US visa still over 500 days across most of India, the US embassy in India today said that Indians applying for a business or tourist visa will be able to apply for an appointment at embassies or consulates in those destinations. Citing Thailand as an example, it said that the country has appointment capacity for B1 and B2 visas (travel and business).

"Do you have upcoming international travel? If so, you may be able to get a visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your destination. For example, @USEmbassyBKK has opened B1/B2 appointment capacity for Indians who will be in Thailand in the coming months," US embassy, India, tweeted.

To cut delays in processing visas, the US recently launched new initiatives, including scheduling special interviews for first-time applicants and increasing the strength of consular staff.

As part of the multipronged approach to cut the visa backlog, the US embassy in Delhi and the consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad also conducted "special Saturday interview days" on January 21.

Do you have upcoming international travel? If so, you may be able to get a visa appointment at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your destination. For example, @USEmbassyBKK has opened B1/B2 appointment capacity for Indians who will be in Thailand in the coming months. pic.twitter.com/tjunlBqeYu

— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) February 3, 2023

More than 250,000 additional B1/B2 appointments were made public two weeks ago by the US mission in India. A senior US visa officer told PTI recently that the US is "putting every ounce of its energy" into reducing the lengthy visa wait time in India, including sending a cadre of consular officers to the country and opening up its other overseas embassies as far away as Germany and Thailand for Indian visa applicants.

(With PTI inputs)