New US consulate in Hyderabad can process more than 3,000 visa applications a day: US Consul General Jennifer Larson

At its full capacity, the Nanakramguda facility will be South Asia’s biggest US consulate in terms of staff and consular windows. The Paigah Palace premises was on Monday handed over to the state government. The US Consulate in Hyderabad represents the US government in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

Addressing the press for the first time from the new facility, Larson said that the office is doing everything to bring down the wait time for visa appointments and added that the US mission to India is on track to process more than a million visas in 2023. The wait time for visa interview slots, she said, has been brought down from about 1,000 days to about six months. The only exception here is with regard to business and tourist visa appointments which go up to a year.

The consulate is also set to introduce ‘Visa Surge’ days to create more slots to deal with the rising demand. Consular Chief Rebekah Drame said that a visa surge day is arranged for next week where more visa appointment slots will be available, particularly to students wishing to study in the US. Information on visa surge days will be shared on the website and other official platforms.

Larson also added that the drop box facility has been now extended to all categories for expeditious services. According to her, the service period is not only shorter but also faster. In this case, only those who are applying for a visa for the first time have to appear personally and the rest can make use of the drop box facility.