On Friday, India and the US held 11th bilateral Consular Dialogue in New Delhi. They discussed various avenues for enhancing collaboration on diverse fronts, such as extradition, facilitation of student and professional mobility, safe and lawful migration, protection of vulnerable women and children, and ensuring seamless travel for their citizens.
According to a press release from the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian delegation, headed by KJ Srinivasa, Joint Secretary (CPV) in the Ministry of External Affairs, welcomed the US delegation, led by Ambassador Rena Bitter, Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the US Department of State.
In a press release, MEA stated, “The Dialogue reinforced the strong people-to-people ties and cooperation that both countries share across consular issues of mutual interest.”
“Both sides discussed ways of enhancing cooperation on a wide range of issues such as extradition, mobility of students and professionals, safe and legal migration, protection of vulnerable women and children and enabling smooth travel of their respective nationals,” it added.
Both parties commended the initiation of a pilot program in the US to streamline the renewal process of certain visa categories domestically, viewing it as a proactive measure to fortify the strong bonds between the people of both nations. It was agreed between India and the US to conduct the next Consular Dialogue in the US in 2025.
On Thursday, US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Rena Bitter, shared her enthusiasm about visiting India and highlighted the ‘explosion’ in travel between India and the US.
“We’re very excited to be here. This is the 11th annual dialogue on consular issues that we’ve had with our partners in the Indian government. There are a lot of issues for us to cover and a lot of really good news for us to cover. We’ll talk a lot about the incredible explosion in travel between the United States and India. Today, more Indians can travel to the United States than at any other time in our history. We’ll also talk about some of the issues that reflect the really strong family ties between the United States and India,” she said.
“More Indians can travel to the United States than at any other time in our history. Last year, this mission adjudicated 1.4 million visas, the most in many, many years. We’ve made tremendous progress. There is no wait time in virtually every category of visas that we issue. There is a wait time for some travelers, but there are mechanisms for being able to expedite humanitarian cases, and for being able to expedite business visas. But beyond that, in the last year, we have reduced wait times by 75 per cent. And the way that we have done that is by ensuring that we have. It is really important to us in Washington, again, because this bilateral relationship is so important,” she added
According to the US Embassy in India, the US Consular Team processed a record-breaking 1.4 million US visas in 2023, marking an unprecedented high. Additionally, they managed to decrease wait times for visitor visa appointments by 75 percent. Visitor visas (B1/B2) have rebounded, constituting the second-highest number of applications in the history of the US Mission, totaling over 700,000.
Enhancements in processes and staffing investments have significantly reduced the wait time for visitor visa appointments across the country. The average wait time has decreased from 1,000 days to just 250 days, with minimal wait times across all categories. Additionally, in 2023, the US consular team in India issued over 140,000 student visas, surpassing any other country globally for the third consecutive year, marking another record-setting achievement.
