In a concerted effort to boost tourism, the Indian Ministry of Tourism has urged the United States to expedite visa approvals and introduce more direct flight routes.
At last Friday’s tourism and hospitality summit, long visa wait times and a lack of direct flight options were highlighted as major challenges to travel between India and the US, VisaGude.World reports.
As a result, official reports from both countries indicate that addressing these issues through streamlined visa processes and improved flight connectivity could significantly enhance travel volumes and the overall tourism experience.
US Visitor Visa Wait Times Remain High in India Despite Recent Reductions
Despite a reduction from a peak wait time of 999 days at the end of 2021, the current wait times for US visitor visa appointments in India remain lengthy.
As of Friday, the US Department of State reported wait times for B1/B2 visa interviews of 459 days in Chennai, 450 days in Mumbai, 407 days in Hyderabad, 381 days in Kolkata, and 379 days in Delhi.
On the backend for the application processing, we’ve processed something like 60 percent more visas with more or less the same resources. Also, we have issued more than 1.1 million visas in the last year, which, for us, is a record, and that’s just going to continue to go up that number.
Adding to the discussion on visa challenges, Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip, proposed the introduction of short-term tourist visas as a potential innovation to expedite the visa process and boost tourism. Magow also emphasized that increasing international travel would not necessarily come at the expense of domestic travel.
There are many other countries which have done it; maybe short-term tourist visas can be quick, and maybe that could be one potential innovation that can happen as well.
Air India Expands Non-Stop Routes Amid Extended US Flight Durations Due to Russian Airspace Restrictions
As for flight connectivity, the ongoing exclusion of Russian airspace by Western airlines due to the Ukraine conflict has extended the duration of non-stop routes between India and the US. This has resulted in United Airlines and American Airlines operating only a daily flight between Delhi and New York.
On the other hand, Air India, which continues to overfly Russian airspace, is the largest operator of non-stop flights between India and the US. The airline offers 51 weekly direct flights between destinations such as follows:
- New York
- Newark
- Washington
- Chicago
- San Francisco
- Delhi
- Mumbai
- Bangalore
Moreover, visa issuance rates for Indian applicants in the US EB-5 program have dropped by 22 percent over the past eight months. This decline reflects only the EB-5 visas issued through consular processing, not those obtained via adjustment of status (AOS). From October 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023, the US Department of State reported a total of 7,173 EB-5 visas issued through consular processing.