The U.S. Mission to India set a goal in 2023 to process one million visa applications for people visiting the United States as nonimmigrants. They actually processed even more than that. In 2023, they processed almost 20% more visas in India compared to before the Covid pandemic. These visas are for people in India who want to travel to the U.S. for business or personal reasons.

In 2022, more than 1.2 million Indians traveled to the U.S., which is more than 10% of all the people worldwide who applied for visas. This includes 20% of students and 65% of people applying for work-related visas in categories like H and L. The U.S. is also making efforts to improve processing by hiring more staff, making upgrades, and opening a new Consulate in Hyderabad to reduce wait times. They are investing in ways to speed up the process, like allowing more people to not be required to complete interviews and using staff from other countries to help process applications.

In 2024, there’s a plan to start a pilot program that will let people renew their visas while in the U.S. This will initially be for some unnamed visas. However, for certain work-related visas like H and L, they are noted in the expanded program. This pilot program was first mentioned in February 2023, and in July 2023, the U.S. and India said they’re still going ahead with it. We don’t know the exact date it will start. This new program will help consular offices worldwide by reducing their workload. A similar program for domestic renewal of visas in the U.S. was stopped in 2004 because of laws about collecting biometric information for security. This pilot program reintroduces that possibility.

If you have any questions about a visa, or anything other immigration-related issue, feel free to reach out to us. We keep up with the latest news and changes in U.S. immigration policy to give you the best advice for your situation and are with you every step of the way.