The US is on track to issue more than a million visas to Indians this year, a senior official has said, assuring that the Biden administration is committed this summer to make sure it processes all of the student visas for Indians whose school starts this fall.
Student visas
US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu told PTI in an interview this week that India is now number two in the world in terms of international students coming to the United States.
“We are on track to issue more than a million visas this year. This is a record for us along with a record number of student visas and immigrant visas,” Mr. Lu said.
Work visas
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
“We’ve also been prioritising work visas: H-1B’s and L visas. Wait times at some of our consular sections in India, for these visas are now below 60 days. We will continue to make sure that we prioritise visas for workers, as this is vital for both the American and the Indian economy,” Mr. Lu said.
“We plan to have a pilot up and running later this year. This would eliminate the need for these applicants to travel abroad to renew their visas,” he said.
Bilateral ties
Mr. Lu said that the India-US relationship enjoys bipartisan support in the US.