The Indian Panorama

Tag: Julie Stufft

  • US issued record 140K visas to Indian students last year: Official

    US issued record 140K visas to Indian students last year: Official

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): As part of the Biden administration’s endeavor to promote people-to-people ties with India, the US issued more than 1,40,000 visas to Indian students last year and is taking several steps to reduce visa appointment wait period. In an interview to PTI, Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services, said US missions in India worked six, seven days a week to make sure that students could be interviewed before their classes started.

    This year, the US made a huge effort to concentrate on the demand coming out of India, she said.

    “We are really proud of what we have done in India this year. I think for the first time in history, we set a goal to issue one million visas in India and not only did we accomplish that, but it was done several months in advance. So, the number will go way beyond that. “There are record-setting numbers this year for workers, crew members and students applying in India to come to the United States,” she added.

    Stufft further said, “We specifically made sure that we saw the students who were applying coming out of India. India is now the largest source country for foreign students in the United States, as well as many other visa categories. That’s a very important one for us. We have also had a lot of cases where the interview was waived, so no interview for Indian travelers who have previously travelled and are now going back to the US.”

    Last year, the US issued a record over 1,40,000 visas to Indian students, she said.

    “For students who are applying in India, I would say the biggest thing is that the missions there have worked six, seven days a week to interview students to make sure that everyone can be interviewed before their classes start. The amount of effort and importance that we place on Indian students coming to the US is born out in the visa process. We want to make sure everyone has that chance,” she said. The US, Stufft said, is working on taking several steps to reduce the visa appointment wait time in India, which is still a bit high.

    “I hope it will be (coming down) this year, meaning this fiscal year for us. But we are sending huge numbers of officers to India to manage the wait time and move them around the country as needed. I mean, it has gotten much better but it still needs to come down quite a bit,” she said.

    “We had a state visit recently. Everyone from the president of course, to Ambassador (Eric) Garcetti and the secretary of state is so committed to making sure that the people-to-people ties between our two countries expand. We are carrying that out in the visa process. So, we really expect more innovations and a much quicker process in the future,” Stufft told PTI. The State Department official said anyone who is interested in travelling to the US for any reason should apply as soon as possible.

    “If you are travelling for work-related reasons, there’s another special avenue to use. There is a special channel to use so that business-related visas are also prioritized. Bear with us, I would say as we get through this.

    “India is unique because it represents the highest number of visas in several categories. Not just visitors, not just students, not just maritime crew members but highly skilled work. I mean, it is a tremendous demand across the board for us. So, our priority is to get all of those wait times down,” she said.

    During a media round table with a group of foreign journalists organized by the Foreign Press Centre, Stufft said the US has issued more than 10.5 million visas in 2023 so far, which is 2 million more than what it had anticipated and is almost hitting the highest-ever level at its overseas missions.

    “Half of our overseas missions set their own record for that country for adjudications of visas in that country. We set records for visa adjudication, for work visas and for student visas as well in some (other) categories,” she said.

    For 2024, the US is still working very hard on reducing wait times, Stufft said.

    “In some overseas locations, we still have very high wait times, some exceeding a year still for one category of visa, which is a first-time visitor, someone who needs an interview for their visa. “All other categories have low wait times globally, but we are very focused on the first-time visitor interview wait times and what’s very interesting to us is that many of the places where we have set records for visa production this year are the same places where we still have really high wait times. This just indicates a very high level of demand and we are going to use this year to really get control of that in these five or six places with very high wait times,” she said.
    (Source: PTI)

  • Wait time for US visitor’s visa interview in India cut by 60 pc this year, says official

    Wait time for US visitor’s visa interview in India cut by 60 pc this year, says official

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): The wait time for a US visitor’s visa interview in India has been reduced by 60 per cent this year, a senior official has said, attributing it to several steps the United States has taken, including increasing the number of officials and opening other diplomatic missions to process these applications.

    Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services Julie Stufft told PTI in an interview that the goal of the State Department is to get to 1 million visas issued this year, which would be above the pre-pandemic number.

    “We have increased the number of officers going to India. We have set up arrangements, which is unprecedented, with other embassies in the world like Bangkok to take Indians who are seeking visas. We are opening a new consulate in Hyderabad… and we’re just focused on making sure that we can bring the wait time down in India,” she said. Stufft noted that Frankfurt, London and Abu Dhabi have taken a lot of Indian citizens who are seeking visas. “We have asked these missions to take Indians as if they were from their own host country. Especially in places like Bangkok where there is no visa required for Indians and it is a relatively short flight.

    “Obviously this is not ideal. We want Indians to be able to apply in India, and that’s where we’ll get to,” she said.

    More than 100 US diplomatic missions have been issuing visas to Indians. “As a result of all of these efforts, the visitor visa interview wait time has decreased by 60 per cent just in the last couple of months. This is a result of all the work that we’ve put into making sure that Indians who wish to travel to the US can do so.”

    Stufft said that currently, “visa production in India is 40 per cent higher than it was before the pandemic” and asserted that the State Department was working hard to bring down the wait time.

    In February, the US had the highest on-record production of visas in India. “Our team there is working very hard and they’re well on their way to accomplishing the 1 million visa goal,” Stufft said.

    In addition to the visitor’s visa, the State Department official said they are working on other types of visas including student visas. “Because we have been able to expand interview waivers, meaning fewer Indians need to come to the embassy or consulate for an interview, we can process that without seeing the applicant. That has helped us tremendously because we have had consular officers in dozens of countries who are actually remotely processing these Indian visas,” Stufft said.

    This has made it possible for people who don’t need an interview, those who have travelled to the US before, to get their visa in a record time of less than two weeks, she said.

    “It really is a global effort. Because we have such strong ties with India and the relationship between our two countries means that the categories of visas are the highest in India.. students, tech workers, and crew members. It’s a high cultural, educational and work relationship between our countries,” Stufft said. She said anyone who has to travel to the US urgently for any sort of humanitarian matter, those cases will be expedited.

    “But make your appointment, find the place that you can go in India or outside of India where it’s possible. And bear with us as we bring these wait times down. We’re very excited to be hitting records every month with the number of visas that we’re issuing in India,” she said.

    Stufft also said that the State Department is very excited about launching a pilot project on domestic renewal of visas soon. Under this, holders of certain work visa categories who are living in the United States can apply for visa renewal without leaving the United States.

    “What this means in particular for a large number of tech workers from India is that people would not have to go back to India or another post in the world to apply for their visa,” Stufft said.

    “That’s very exciting for all of us. It will take time. We’re building up that operation from zero. That’s something that we have not done for several decades at this point. This will have big benefits for Indians who are living and working in America,” she added.
    (Source: PTI)