Since November 2022, travelers have been able to renew their US visa without an interview if their previous visa expired within 48 months. However, this window has now been shortened to just 12 months, requiring many more applicants to schedule an in-person appointment.Though there have been long delays post covid in getting visas, travel between India and the US has soared since the pandemic. In 2023, over 1.76 million Indians visited the US, surpassing the pre-Covid 2019 figure of 1.47 million. India is now the second-largest source of international visitors to the US, after the UK.Moreover, there will be larger scrutiny in issuing of visas under Executive Order 14161, signed by US President Trump on January 20, 2025, is titled “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.”This order for example requires federal agencies to strengthen immigration screening and vetting procedures to prevent individuals who could pose national security or public safety risks from entering the country.It reinstates vetting standards from the previous Trump administration and mandates a comprehensive review of visa and immigration policies to ensure heightened security.Key provisions include identifying high-risk countries for possible entry restrictions, improving refugee screening, evaluating visa programs for security vulnerabilities, overseeing foreign nationals already in the US, and promoting immigrant assimilation into American society. Last month External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also highlighted the importance of improving legal mobility between India and the US. “If it takes 400-odd days of waiting to get a visa, I don’t think the relationship is well served by this,” he had remarked
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