US increasing staff, opening new consulates to reduce visa delays: Ambassador Garcetti

New Delhi, November 20

The US is increasing staff strength and opening new consulates, including in Ahmedabad, to reduce the waiting time for issuance of visas from India, US Ambassador Eric Garcetti said on Monday.

One consulate was recently opened at Hyderabad and premises are being looked at in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad for new consulates, he said during an interactive session, organised by the Observer Research Foundation here.

“I had a look at the new premises for establishing a consulate at Ahmedabad yesterday. Some more people have already joined the Hyderabad consulate as we are increasing the staff strength in the city,” he said.

Garcetti said the number of US visas being issued in India had increased by one-third in recent weeks and the embassy was likely to issue 10-15 per cent more visas than usual in the current calendar year.

He said the delay in issuance of visas was due to the large number of applicants. Other large countries, such as Brazil and Mexico were facing similar issues.