United States : In a momentous achievement, the United States Mission to India has shattered expectations by successfully processing over one million non-immigrant visa applications in the current year.
This exceptional feat was celebrated as Ambassador Eric Garcetti personally presented the one millionth visa to a thrilled couple, Dr. Ranju Singh and Puneet Dargan, who are set to embark on a journey to the United States to attend their son’s graduation at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The news of being the one millionth visa recipients left Dr. Ranju Singh, a senior consultant at Lady Hardinge College, and her husband Puneet Dargan, beaming with joy. Their travel to the United States is scheduled for May 2024, and this momentous occasion was marked by Ambassador Garcetti, who affectionately greeted the couple as “Mr. and Mrs. One Million.”
During the interaction, Ambassador Garcetti took a keen interest in the couple’s travel plans and offered valuable suggestions on must-see attractions and experiences in the United States. He expressed his profound happiness for both India and the United States and highlighted the collaborative efforts to streamline and expedite the visa processing system.
“I couldn’t be happier today, happy for India, Indians, and the United States. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and President (Joe) Biden had said let’s do a better job in moving faster on the visas, and so the Ministry of External Affairs here approved more bodies in places like Hyderabad…more people who can work on these visas, we changed our systems, we worked harder and smarter and we hit a million visa applications processed this year,” the ambassador said.
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“Our partnership with India is one of the United States’ most important bilateral relationships, and in fact, one of the most important relationships in the world.
The ties between our people are stronger than ever, and we will continue our record-setting volume of visa work in the coming months to give as many Indian applicants as possible the opportunity to travel to the United States and experience the US-India friendship firsthand,” he added.
This remarkable milestone underscores the US Mission to India’s commitment to strengthening ties between the two nations. The mission has not only surpassed the total number of cases processed in 2022 but is also processing almost 20 percent more applications than in pre-pandemic 2019, demonstrating an unwavering dedication to facilitating travel between India and the United States.
“We got an email after we had finished our visa interviews that we are supposed to collect our visas; we were told that we were the one millionth…the Ambassador meeting us in person was a great moment for us. We are looking forward to going to the US; we will be there at MIT to celebrate our son’s proud day and then explore the country as tourists,” Dr. Singh told PTI.
Puneet Dargan shared that their son is currently pursuing his Masters in Financial Engineering at MIT, making this upcoming trip their very first to the United States. With excitement in his voice, he said, “This will be our first trip to the US. We are really looking forward to it.”
Notably, last year witnessed over 1.2 million Indians visiting the United States, highlighting the growing popularity of the destination among Indian travelers. Indians now represent over 10 percent of all visa applicants worldwide, including 20 percent of all student visa applicants and 65 percent of all H&L-category (employment) visa applicants.
According to a statement by the US Embassy in India, recognizing the continued high demand for US visas, the United States continues to invest heavily in its operations in India. In the past year, the Mission has expanded its staffing to facilitate more visa processing than ever before.
Capital improvements have been made to existing facilities, and a new Consulate building has been inaugurated in Hyderabad. The Mission has also implemented strategies to increase efficiency, including extending interview waiver eligibility to new visa categories and utilizing remote work to allow staff worldwide to contribute to Indian visa processing.
Early next year, the Mission plans to implement a pilot program that would allow domestic visa renewal for qualified H&L-category employment visa applicants.
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