New Delhi, December 16
The US embassy has opened visa appointments in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai for all categories of non-immigrant visas. This flexible approach gives applicants the option of visiting any of these consulates.
According to Mr Peter G. Kaestner, consul-general of the embassy, there is a huge demand for US visas in Chennai.
The embassy had doubled its visa issuance capacity by pooling human resources.
The US government has identified persons who have retired from its consulates to help out with visas.
With 90,000 applications pending in September last, Mr Kaestner has said they have more capacity than ever to clear the backlog.
They are about halfway through and hope to finish the backlog by March next.
From 2000 visas a day in September, they are now issuing 4000 visas a day.
In the last three years, 12 new consular officers have been added across India.
