A trip to the US is a dream for many, but it looks like reaching the US will take a bit longer as the waiting time to get an appointment in India for a visa interview for travel to the US has reached nearly 1,000 days in some consulates in India.
However, for a few categories, the appointments can be secured just within a week or two, according to the latest data on the US Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs website.
There are two categories of visitors that may be able to get an appointment in less than a week in Hyderabad and Chennai.
B1, B2 Category Visas
If you are applying for B1/B2 visas from Chennai, the wait time is as less as 1 calendar day and from Delhi, it is 16 days.
According to a report by CNBC, the estimated waiting time for an appointment for the B1 and B2 category visa is 440 days in Kolkata and 999 days in Mumbai.
As the US has extended the interview waiver facility for more non-immigrant visa applicants, visitors in the B1/B2 categories will get a visa interview appointment in six days at the US consulate in Chennai, the CNBC report said.
These visas are meant for those who want to enter the US temporarily for business (visa category B1), for tourism (visa category B2), or for a combination of both purposes.
C, D, C1, D Category Visas
Meanwhile, if you are seeking a visa under the C, D, C1/D category, the wait time for the interview in Hyderabad is just 1 Calendar Day. These visas are meant for non-immigrants working on board commercial ships.
The wait time for the interview in Mumbai is 55 days for the C1/D visa categories.
Even those who require an interview along with those applicants who come under the interview waiver category - i.e. those in C, D, C1/D categories - will have to wait a day to get an appointment.
Student Visas
US student visa applicants and exchange visitors are seeing a waiting time of 64 days at the US consulate in Chennai and 325 days at the Hyderabad consulate, according to report.
