Indian companies trying to send executives to the United States for short business trips will need to plan nearly a year ahead. The US State Department’s Global Visa Wait-Times tracker, refreshed on 21 October, shows the first available B1/B2 (business/tourist) interview date in Mumbai in October 2027, with Hyderabad only marginally better at mid-August 2027. New Delhi and Kolkata hover around nine to ten months, while work-visa categories such as H-1B and L-1 average 6-7 months. The backlog is the legacy of pandemic-era closures compounded by surging pent-up demand from Indian travellers and a shortage of experienced consular officers. Although Washington sent temporary staff and opened Saturday interview shifts earlier this year, those measures merely stabilised, rather than reduced, the queue. Student (F-1) interviews remain comparatively fluid because the State Department shields them with dedicated appointment blocks. For corporates, the squeeze is acute. Sales teams risk losing contracts when client visits cannot be scheduled, and technology firms face higher costs as they route travellers through third-country postings that allow drop-box renewals. Immigration counsel recommend that global mobility managers file interview-waiver renewals at least six months before a visa’s expiry and keep contingency budgets for regional travel to Singapore or Bangkok, where third-country appointments are still possible. Longer term relief hinges on the State Department’s multi-year Consular Fellows Program and its plan to pilot remote video interviews. Until then, experts advise Indian firms to leverage ESTA-eligible citizenships in their workforce where available, or shift meeting locations to Europe and the Gulf to keep projects on schedule.
Source: The Economic Times
