US Consulate in Frankfurt sets aside visa interview appointments for Indians

As the interview wait times for visitor B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) visas in India vary from 15 to 20 months, the US Consulate in Frankfurt has set aside non-immigrant visa interview appointments specifically for Indian applicants, according to a report published by The Times of India. 

In India, the wait time for a B1/B2 interview appointment varies from state to state. In Kolkata, the wait time is 607 days, while in Mumbai, it stands at 571 days, followed by 486 days in Chennai and 441 days in Hyderabad. For Frankfurt, the wait time is just three days. 

Indians were last year permitted to apply at US consulates abroad, such as Bangkok, as part of initiatives to reduce the backlog. The backlog has been decreased through a number of steps, whereas it had nearly tripled the previous winter, TOI reported. 

Besides this, Indian applicants are witnessing various glitches in a new portal for scheduling non-immigrant visa interview appointments. Speaking to TOI, a US embassy official said the administration is trying to resolve these issues as soon as possible. 

Since the start of the fiscal year, the US Mission in India has granted over 3.3 lakh petition-based temporary employment visas, which is 71% more than it did during the same period in 2019.

The US embassy official said that all non-immigrant visa categories in India have interview wait times close to pre-pandemic levels. “We have significantly increased the number of visas issued across the board…wait times for travelers who do not require an interview are very low,” the official told TOI. 

He further said that the US embassy is closely monitoring the reports of technical issues with the website for non-immigrant visa appointments. He also assured that the issues are being resolved as quickly as possible.