The US mentioned that that country has been significantly progressing in the issuance of business visas in India and taking various steps to facilitate the processes

On Tuesday, the US stated that there has been significant progress in the issuance of business visas in India and that America is taking various steps, such as increasing the number of staff, to further facilitate the process there.

Arun Venkataraman, US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets, mentioned the incredible progress made in the issuance of visas for students there.

On the business side, there has been significant progress, with the country issuing more H1B and L visas in 2022 than it did in 2019 before the pandemic. Although they are still in the process of ramping up the staff, there is a lot more to achieve and they focus on accomplishing that.

The administration is doubling the number of direct hires, they have to facilitate the issuance of visas at the embassy, and they are working to bring on diplomatic spouses to work in the process in the visa areas. Therefore, the country is continuing to take steps, has already made progress, and is now issuing more visas than it ever has before. There were critical challenges concerning the issuance of visas, which was driven primarily by the pandemic.

During the pandemic, there was a significant reduction in operations, and the US was unable to issue visas in that context. Venkataraman expressed that he is pleased to say that they have rebounded from that situation and have taken various concrete steps to facilitate the issuance of visas.

India discussed with the US the inordinate delays in the issuance of business visas to people from India. The country has found good resonance to the request that issuance of business visas which is taking a long time in India is an area which has to be expedited so that business persons interested on both sides would have faster processing of business reasons so that trade and investment and business will not suffer.

Goyal made the statement during the conclusion of the India-US Trade Policy Forum meeting, which he co-chaired with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai. India has requested that the US speed up the regular business visa issuance when individuals come in for short trips to pursue their trade and business interests.

Venkataraman noted US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s visit in March this year. She will join a powerful delegation from the top American forum and the US-India commercial dialogue. The visit will be a launching pad for enhancing engagement between the two countries. Companies in both countries are doubling down on the US-India economic corridor, and the governments have shared commitments to ensure that the respective private sectors continue to play an integral role in enhancing each government’s domestic goals and shared objectives around the world.

On the bilateral trade target of USD 500 billion, Venkataraman underlined that India-US trade is moving in a consistent upward direction. The US was able to cross USD 160 billion the previous year. Furthermore, he added that the USD 500 billion targets are still far away from that, so the countries are working with the private sector to identify the strategic elements that can be changed to create the environment needed to hit that objective and move well past it in the long term.