Long wait for US visas as consulate lacks staff:
HYDERABAD: If you have applied for a US visa and have been waiting for a long time to get an appointment for an interview, yours is not a lone case. The US Consulate Gen eral office in Hyderabad is facing an acute shortage of staff and with the number of applications mounting by , the situation may not get better anytime soon. "While we plan to shift to new consulate by 2020, we have asked the government of India to allow us to appoint more consular officers so that the waiting period can be reduced," said B Jamison Fouss, the chief consular officer at a media conference at the US Consulate General in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Speaking about the staff crunch, Foss, said, "There are only seven to 10 consular officers to review nearly 700 to 1,000 applications per day. Due to shortage of staff, there is higher waiting period during the peak season.
Each consular of ficer interviews an applicant for about two to three minutes," said Fouss. He added that for the kind of visa applications influx in Hyderabad, nearly 20 more consular officers were required. The consulate has been planning to increase counsellor windows to 51 from the 16 at the new office.
The American consulate in the city issued the highest number of student visas in India between July 2014 and July 2015, so much so, Hyderabad was ranked the fourth highest in the world in terms of number of student visas issued during the period.
HYDERABAD: If you have applied for a US visa and have been waiting for a long time to get an appointment for an interview, yours is not a lone case. The US Consulate Gen eral office in Hyderabad is facing an acute shortage of staff and with the number of applications mounting by , the situation may not get better anytime soon. "While we plan to shift to new consulate by 2020, we have asked the government of India to allow us to appoint more consular officers so that the waiting period can be reduced," said B Jamison Fouss, the chief consular officer at a media conference at the US Consulate General in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Speaking about the staff crunch, Foss, said, "There are only seven to 10 consular officers to review nearly 700 to 1,000 applications per day. Due to shortage of staff, there is higher waiting period during the peak season.
Each consular of ficer interviews an applicant for about two to three minutes," said Fouss. He added that for the kind of visa applications influx in Hyderabad, nearly 20 more consular officers were required. The consulate has been planning to increase counsellor windows to 51 from the 16 at the new office.
The American consulate in the city issued the highest number of student visas in India between July 2014 and July 2015, so much so, Hyderabad was ranked the fourth highest in the world in terms of number of student visas issued during the period.
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