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US Embassy plans to open offices in Delhi and other city to clear the backlog of visa applications
By Gaurav, Section Jobs And Careers
The United States Embassy has increased its resources, even calling holidaying Consular staff from around the world, to clear the backlog of visa applications in India, a senior Consular official said at a press briefing in Delhi. This September and October, the US Embassy boasts of having issued 78 per cent more visas compared to the corresponding months last year.
To continue its effort, the Embassy is going to expand its resources across the country. In Delhi, it plans a US$20 million renovation project to double the size of the existing section and open 10 new visa interview windows. It is going to build a US$100 million Consulate General office in Mumbai by year 2008. A renovated Kolkata Consulate promises to have twice the workspace in 12 months from now. During the same period, Hyderabad, is also likely to host a 15-window Consular branch. The Indian government has given its nod for a Consulate General building in the Andhra city. The Embassy also proposes to start a pre-screening facility next April in Chennai. It plans to add an equal number of interview windows to the present six in the state capital this year. According to Peter G. Kaestner, Minister – Counsellor for Consular Affairs and Consul General, US Embassy, the southern region logs the maximum number of visa seekers in all categories including prospective students. “Almost half (the applications) come from Chennai, then Mumbai and Delhi. That is why, we are opening in Hyderabad.” A region wise break-up of visa figures is, however, not available.
The Embassy issued 24,622 student visas 32 per cent more than the previous year during the last American financial year from October 2005 to September this year. Kaestner said that the Embassy “absolutely” gives preference to prospective students while scheduling appointments visa interviews with them. “Our goal is to give an appointment in two weeks.” Replying to a question, Kaestner replied, “The security measures remain the same. We are only adding to the resources.” Speaking to the media, Kaestner said, “When I arrived there was a six-month long backlog. One lakh people could not get appointments.” The productivity of the Embassy was not able to balance visa applications and issuance, he said. “We started at the end of September in an unprecedented effort to get rid of the backlog.” Within a month, the Embassy upped the figure of visas issued from 2,000 a day to 4,000 a day, he said. “We issued eight lakh visas last month.” The Embassy issued 3,58,734 temporary visas and more than 30,000 immigrant visas in 2006. It granted 43,167 H1B visas (non-immigrant permits for highly-skilled professionals) in the last American financial year.
To help in the process, Washington sent to India “several dozen” temporary officers vacationing back home from its Warsaw, London, Bogotá, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kathmandu and Paris operations, Kaestner revealed. A retired official, settled in Geneva, too came to pitch in, he said. Manned by 200 Consular employees, the Embassy has created seven Consular posts this year. However, the Embassy’s output is going to dip from next week till January as 50 per cent of its countrywide staff proceeds on leave during the coming festive season, Kaestner informed. On the “constraint” due to the 65,000-a-year global cap on H1B visas, Kaestner said that many companies had found alternate ways of taking employees to America. Companies were using other types of visas such as the L, B and the different Hs, he said. The Embassy had also reduced the visa fee from US$150 to US$100 recently. After Mexico, India is the second country in terms of visa demand. Source- HT's Horizons-20/12/2006
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