US to solve visa backlog for Indians in the next few months, Antony Blinken assures S Jaishankar
1 min read 28 Sep 2022, 05:54 AM ISTUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the Joe Biden administration has a plan that will play out in the coming months.
PremiumThe US has a plan to solve the visa backlog for Indians in the next few months, as per US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The comments were made during a meeting in Washington with S Jaishankar. India’s Minister of External Affairs raised issues with obtaining visas for Indians to live and work in the United States.
For Indians, the US has a non-immigrant visa waiting period for more than two years. The waiting period in Delhi is 444 calendar days for student/exchange visitor visas, 758 calendar days for visitor visas and 354 calendar days for all other non-immigrant visas.
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Jaishankar said he was confident that Blinken and his team would look at some of these problems “seriously and positively". Blinken attributed the backlog to the COVID-19 epidemic.
"We had constraints from COVID about the number of people we could have in our embassies at any one time etc. We are now building back very determined really from that surging resources. We have a plan when it comes to India to address the backlog of visas that have built up. I think you'll see that play out in the coming months," Blinken said in a press briefing.
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During COVID, the US' capacity to provide visas significantly decreased. And, it doesn't want to add to the difficulty of it in any way. Instead, it wants to make it easier, Blinken said.
“Bear with us. This will play out over the next few months but we're very focused on it," he added.
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The relationship between India and the United States is one of the “most consequential"in the world, Blinken said during the joint press conference. According to the US Secretary of State, the two countries have improved their bilateral relationship over the past few years thanks to groups like QUAD, the G20, and UN-affiliated international organisations.
India's UNSC presidency in December and its G20 presidency in 2023 will allow the US to promote more international collaboration and joint action. Blinken said.
(With ANI inputs)
