Latest snapshots from multiple monitoring services show that US visitor-visa interview waits in India have crept up again despite the post-pandemic hiring surge at consulates. Data aggregated by PERM Tracker on 11 November put Hyderabad at roughly 12 months, Mumbai at 11.5 months and New Delhi at just under 10 months for B-1/B-2 appointments. Student-visa (F-1) queues remain far shorter at three to five weeks, reflecting seasonal demand. Slot-scraping platform AppointVisa recorded only a handful of brief openings this week, most of which disappeared within minutes—evidence, consultants say, that pent-up holiday and family-visit demand is colliding with a limited appointment release schedule. Business travellers chasing December meetings are therefore competing with tourists booking as far out as autumn 2027. Why it matters: Indian nationals account for almost a quarter of all global B-1/B-2 issuances, and lengthy queues translate directly into delayed deal-making, conference cancellations and lost export opportunities. Companies with frequent India-US travel have begun budgeting for premium appointment-monitoring services and rotating trips through consulates with marginally shorter lines, such as Chennai or Kolkata. Some are even routing executives via Singapore or Dubai to use third-country appointments—an option the State Department says is legal but “not guaranteed”. Consular officials blame a combination of staff turnover, high demand and the longer adjudication times required for first-time applicants who missed out during the pandemic. The Embassy tells applicants to “apply well in advance” and notes that interview-waiver renewals are still processed in 3-4 weeks. Nevertheless, trade bodies are urging Washington to allocate more officers to India in the FY 2027 staffing plan and to expand interview-waiver eligibility for frequent business visitors. Action points: Corporates should lock in 2027 travel calendars now, educate travellers on biometrics-first appointment sequencing, and explore visa-renewal trips while staff are already in the US. HR teams may also want to flag the substantial visa-fee hikes scheduled for April 2027, which could further incentivise early filings.
