US Consulate to process 1,500 visa cases daily, says Keiser

Mumbai, Oct 12 (UNI) US Consul General in Mumbai Micheal Owens today said sweeping reforms are being undertaken at the Consulate to clear visa backlogs and cut down time duration for applicants to facilitate better services.

Addressing mediapersons at the US Consulate here, the new chief of Consular Services Glen Kaiser said with additional officers and reforms, 1,300 applications are being examined on a daily basis as compared to 500 to 600 earlier.

Mr Kaiser said the US Embassy is gearing up to examine 1,500 visas in the near future for faster disposal of cases by doubling up the staff once the Consulate is shifted to new Bandra-Kurla complex on the western suburb thus augmenting and accommodating more visa seekers.

The US administration has decided to fasten and improve visa services for Indian citizens desiring to visit the US in view of the rising bilateral cooperation and engagement between the two countries, Mr Owen said.

Mr Keiser said after Mexico and Seoul, India is the largest US post for visa services. therefore, on a priority basis, the administration is undertaking reforms on visa services in India, he added.

In addition, time period for visa interviews has been reduced to six days after the applicant submits the relevant documents and the Consulate will also work on alternate Saturdays, he said.

Doling out the statistics, Mr Keiser said the Mumbai Consulate, from October last year to September this year, had processed 1,25,000 non-immigrant visa cases. Out of these, 33,000 were requests for skilled work visas, 10,500 applications for student visas and 13,500 crew visa cases.

He drew attention to the fact that the Mumbai Consulate, which is the 12th busiest non-immigrant visa post in the world, processes more visas for crew members of ships after Manila than any other US Embassy globally.

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