Latest U.S. visa-appointment dashboard shows Indian wait times still long—12.5 months in Mumbai for B1/B2

The U.S. State Department quietly refreshed its Global Visa Wait Times page on 21 October. The data show only marginal relief for Indian applicants: the first-available B1/B2 interview in Mumbai is 12.5 months away, down half a month since September. New Delhi posts a seven-month wait, and Chennai stands at 7.5 months. Petition-based categories (H, L, O, P, Q) fare slightly better, with next appointments in two to 3.5 months across Indian consulates. While these numbers reflect first available slots and not the median experience, they remain well above the worldwide average of 5.2 months for visitor visas. Business travellers continue to lean on interview-waiver renewals and third-country appointments—most notably in Bangkok and Dubai, where B1/B2 interviews can be secured in under two weeks. Companies sending assignees under L-1 or H-1B classifications should still initiate petitions at least six months in advance, despite the two-month indicative appointment window, because administrative processing may follow the interview. The limited capacity also means that any reinstatement of group-appointment blocks for large IT firms is unlikely before Q2 2027. The State Department has hired 600 new consular adjudicators since 2025 and added extended Saturday shifts in Mumbai and Hyderabad, but officials concede that full normalisation will take “another fiscal year.” In the meantime, applicants are advised to monitor the CGI Federal portal daily for short-notice openings released through cancelations or Mission India’s periodic “Super Monday” slot drops. Mobility managers should also watch a pilot expedited-appointment programme, currently live in Brazil and Thailand, that the State Department plans to expand to India by January 2027 if early metrics are positive.