India’s US visitor visa interview wait averaged 346 days in 2025, audit finds

• The average wait for a US visitor visa interview in India was 346 days in fiscal 2025, compared with 42 days before the pandemic

• India received an estimated 1.46 million nonimmigrant visa applications across several categories, with 68 consular officers assigned to process them

• The 346-day figure is a historical average for securing an interview, not the current wait or the time taken to decide a visa application

Applicants in India waited an average of 346 days for a US visitor visa interview in fiscal 2025, according to a federal audit released on Monday. That was more than eight times the pre-pandemic average of 42 days.

The US Government Accountability Office attributed the delays largely to demand exceeding available consular staffing. It stressed that the 346-day figure describes the historical wait to obtain an interview. It does not indicate how long applicants wait today or how much time officials take to decide a case after the interview.

India received an estimated 1,455,255 nonimmigrant visa applications in 2025, while 68 consular officers were working on such visas in the country. That amounts to roughly 21,401 applications per officer. The application and staffing figures span several temporary visa categories; the 346-day average applies specifically to visitor visa interviews.

The gap with other major visa markets was substantial. Average visitor visa interview waits were 34 days in China and 32 days in Brazil. Mexico, where the number of applications per officer was similar to India’s, recorded a 283-day wait. India ranked seventh among the 10 countries with the longest average waits.

Auditors visited New Delhi, Mexico City, Beijing and São Paulo. State Department staff in India and Mexico said strong demand and a shortage of officers following the pandemic had made backlogs difficult to clear. Across the four locations, officials identified staffing levels relative to demand as a leading cause of delays.

Facilities added to the pressure in New Delhi. The audit found too few interview windows for the number of officers needed to meet demand. Auditors also observed hundreds of applicants waiting outside the US embassy and in secondary waiting areas. A planned move to another building within the embassy compound would not increase the number of interview windows, the report said.

Officials cited the time required to assess some applications as another factor. They also told auditors that some paid visa agents reserve appointment slots as soon as they become available and then sell them to clients. The State Department has changed its scheduling system to address the practice.

The department has taken other steps to reduce the workload in India. In fiscal 2024, a Washington-based unit remotely processed 80.6 per cent of New Delhi’s visitor visa cases eligible for an interview waiver. Consular staff in New Delhi also worked additional Saturdays to process applications.

With IANS inputs