E-Paper
India raises US visa delay issues; Blinken promises action
External affairs minister S Jaishankar said that this was a crucial issue given its centrality to education, technology, business and family reunions
Washington: India has raised the issue of visa delays and hurdles in human mobility with the United States, while the US has promised to work on it and promised action within a few months.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar said that this was a crucial issue given its centrality to education, technology, business and family reunions. “There have been challenges of late. I have flagged it to Secretary Blinken and his team and have every confidence that they will look at some of these problems seriously and positively.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he was “extremely sensitive” to the issue and if it was any consolation, this was a challenge the US was facing around the world. “It is a product largely of the pandemic. Our ability to issue visas dropped dramatically during Covid. This is a self financing part of the State Department…When Covid hit, the demand for visas fell..the system as a whole suffered..”
He said that the US was building back and had a plan when it came to India to address the backlog of visas. “You will see that play out in the coming months. We are focused on these connections, people-to-people ties..the last thing we want to do it is make it difficult but instead want to facilitate it. So please bear with us.”
