The United States are trying to simplify and speed up visas for Indian travelers, a U.S. diplomat said Saturday after President Barack Obama called for a national strategy to make the trip up the country and tourist destination .
The U.S. Embassy consular team in India has a streamlined visa application a priority to follow the executive order Obama on making it easier for foreign travelers around the world to visit there, Minister- Counsellor for Consular Affairs James Herman said in a statement here.
"We want to make it easier for travelers to apply for a visa to the United States," said Herman.
Noting the January 19 announcement of its strategy that visa applications were staggering, led Obama through the U.S. government agencies to design a program to make it easier for tourists to visit the United States.
Herman said that over the past five years, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi increase in the number of over 60 percent and has opened two new consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai in 2009, 2011.
Some 97 percent of visas are processed within 24 hours, and the waiting time for visa appointments is now ten days or less, the statement of the U.S. Embassy.
In 2011, the Embassy has processed nearly 700,000 visa applications across the nation.
Stressing "the importance of Indian travelers," said Herman, "Indians are the highest volume of travelers working visa in the United States and the second largest number of foreign students."
There are some 104,000 Indian students studying in American universities and colleges differ.
Herman said 2011 was a record year for H1B work visas with more than 68 000 processed by the Consular team India alone. "We continue to support people to people links that define the growing partnership between our nations.
"Each year we reach out to more students to help them achieve their educational goals. We work closely with the business community to meet their needs, with hundreds of members of companies in our program manager. "(IANS)
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