US Consulate to be open on select Saturdays to provide additional visa slots
The United States has launched a multi-pronged initiative, including scheduling special visa interviews on Saturdays and deploying dozens of temporary staffers, to address the backlog in visa processing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first in a series of special Saturday interview days, part of a larger effort to reduce wait times for first-time visa applicants, was organised on January 21 by the US embassy in New Delhi and the consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
These interview days are for applicants who require in-person visa interviews. “In the coming months, the mission will continue to open additional slots for appointments to take place on select Saturdays,” the US embassy said in a statement.
The US department of state has already implemented remote processing of interview waiver cases for applicants with previous US visas. Such applicants no longer have to appear for in-person interviews.