The United States Mission to India reached its target of processing one million non-immigrant visa applications this year on Thursday, with Ambassador Eric Garcetti personally handing over the one-millionth visa to a couple traveling to the United States to witness their son’s graduation at MIT.
Dr. Ranju Singh, the senior consultant at Lady Hardinge College, was overjoyed when she received an email from the US Embassy informing her that she had received the one-millionth visa of the year. Her spouse, Puneet Dargan, was awarded the next visa. The pair plans to visit the United States in May 2024.
Ambassador Garcetti greeted the pair as “Mr. and Mrs. One Million” and inquired about their trip plans to the United States, giving tips on what not to miss as a tourist.
“I couldn’t be happier today, happy for India, Indians, and the United States. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and President (Joe) Biden had said ” Let’s do a better job in moving faster on the visas and so the Ministry of External Affairs here approved more bodies in places like Hyderabad…more people who can work on these visas, we changed our systems, we worked harder and smarter and we hit a million visa applications processed this year,” the ambassador said.
The U.S. Mission to India on Thursday surpassed its goal to process one million non-immigrant visa applications this year with Ambassador Eric Garcetti personally handing over the one-millionth visa to a couple, who will be heading to the United States to attend their son’s graduation at MIT.
Dr. Ranju Singh, senior consultant, at Lady Hardinge College was elated at receiving an email from the U.S. Embassy about hers being the one-millionth visa this year. Her husband Puneet Dargan was granted the next visa. The couple will be traveling to the U.S. in May 2024.
Greeting the couple as “Mr. and Mrs. One Million”, Ambassador Garcetti enquired about their travel plans to the U.S. and made suggestions about what not to miss in the country as a tourist.
“I couldn’t be happier today, happy for India, Indians, and the United States. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and President (Joe) Biden had said ” Let’s do a better job in moving faster on the visas and so the Ministry of External Affairs here approved more bodies in places like Hyderabad…more people who can work on these visas, we changed our systems, we worked harder and smarter and we hit a million visa applications processed this year,” the ambassador said.
“Our partnership with India is one of the United States’ most important bilateral relationships and one of the most important relationships in the world. The ties between our people are stronger than ever, and we will continue our record-setting volume of visa work in the coming months to allow as many Indian applicants as possible to travel to the United States and experience the US-India friendship firsthand,” he added.
The Mission has already exceeded the entire number of cases handled in 2022 and is processing about 20% more applications than in pre-pandemic 2019.
“We got an email after we had finished our visa interviews that we were supposed to collect our visas, we were told that we were the one millionth… the Ambassador meeting us in person was a great moment for us. We are looking forward to going to the US, we will be there at MIT to celebrate our son’s proud day and then explore the country as tourists,” Dr. Singh told PTI.
Mr. Dargan told them that their son is presently doing his Master’s in Financial Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“This will be our first trip to the U.S. We are looking forward to it,” he said.
Last year, almost 1.2 million Indians visited the United States. Indians currently account for more than 10% of all visa applications globally, including 20% of all student visa applicants and 65% of all H&L-category (employment) visa applicants.
According to a statement issued by the US Embassy here, the US continues to spend extensively in its operations in India, noting the sustained strong demand for US visas.
“In the past year, the Mission has expanded its staffing to facilitate more visa processing than ever before. The Mission has made significant capital improvements to existing facilities, such as the U.S. Consulate in Chennai, and has inaugurated a new Consulate building in Hyderabad.”
“The Mission has also implemented strategies to increase efficiency, extending interview waiver eligibility to new visa categories and utilizing remote work to allow staff around the world to contribute to Indian visa processing. Early next year, the Mission plans to implement a pilot program that would allow domestic visa renewal for qualified H&L-category employment visa applicants,” it said.
