US visa wait time to get shorter for Indians with new rescheduling rules

Good news for Indians planning to visit the US. From January 1, nonimmigrant US visa applicants will be able to reschedule their interview appointment once without a fee. However, missing an appointment or rescheduling a second time will require applicants to book a new appointment and repay the application fee, the US embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.

 

These changes are designed to “make sure everyone has a fair chance at getting a visa interview appointment and to reduce wait times,” according to the embassy.

 

Visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons who want to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1 visa), for tourism (B-2 visa), or for a combination of both purposes (B-1/B-2 visa).

 

Current wait times for B1/B2 visas

 

As of Thursday (December 19), the wait time for a B1/B2 (visitor) visa stood at:

429 days in Hyderabad

436 days in Kolkata

438 days in Mumbai

441 days in Delhi

479 days in Chennai  

 

“Starting January 1, 2025, you can still schedule your first nonimmigrant visa appointment at the location of your choice. If you need to reschedule for any reason, you will be able to do that one time. If you miss your appointment or need to reschedule a second time, you’ll need to book a new appointment and repay your application fee. Since wait times are long, please make sure you can attend on the date you’ve selected,” the embassy explained.

 

“These changes will make it easier and faster for everyone to get appointments. We encourage applicants to attend their scheduled appointments to keep the process efficient and fair for everyone,” it added.

 

How much these adjustments will reduce wait times remains uncertain.

 

Visa appointment slots to expand in 2025

 

In November, the US government announced plans to expand visa appointment slots by one million in 2025. Speaking on visa operations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “We will add an additional one million visa appointments in the financial year 2025. That’s on top of the record number of appointments we had this past year.”

 

A record 11.5 million visas were issued in the 2024 financial year, according to Blinken. “This includes 8.5 million visitor visas, marking a 10% increase over the previous year,” he said.

 

Cost of a US B1/B2 visa

 

The application fee for a US B1/B2 visa for Indian citizens is $185, equivalent to approximately Rs 15,730. The fee is non-refundable.