Washington, June 08 (Hindustan Times). The question of long wait for Indians for US visa has been raised in the US Parliament. American lawmakers have demanded an early solution to this problem by describing India as America’s most important ally with this question.
Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, and Michael Waltz, co-chairman of the India Caucus, questioned the delay in getting US visas to Indians in Parliament. During this, Menendez said that the American people have good relations with the Indians. India is now a part of the Quad and the US is continuously strengthening its ties with India. Despite this, the time taken for a US visa in India is the highest. This is more than the average time it takes for a US visa worldwide. He questioned the compulsion of Indians applying for B1-B2 visas to wait for 450-600 days.
US Senator Michael Waltz said that America’s economic, diplomatic and defense relations with India are most important in the 21st century. Despite this, it is painful to make Indians wait so long for visas. He said the average waiting time in Mumbai is 587 days while the trade between the two countries is over $150 billion. Waltz raised the question whether the US is considering a special policy for India on this issue. He said that in his state of Florida alone, the delay in visas for Indians has resulted in loss of business worth about $8 billion and 250,000 jobs have been affected.
