India top priority for Washington for visas: US official – Fast Hindi News

New Delhi: India is a top priority for Washington, a senior embassy official in India noted on Thursday, adding that the country has made special arrangements to expedite visa applications for India.

With the situation returning to normalcy after COVID, the official said that “the US has made special arrangements to expedite visa applications for India” and hoped that “by the summer of next year, India will overtake China as the second largest America will become Visa recipient.’

“We expect that by summer next year, by June or July, India will overtake China to become the second country after Mexico,” he said, reported news agency UNI.

The official also said that the number of visa applications has also increased.

“For different types of visas, we will not have much waiting time. Each different category has some waiting time,” the official said.

“India is a top priority for Washington. Students, high-tech workers, tourists and businessmen make up a major part of our population,” the official said.

In response to a question, he said that India will be issued at least 10 per cent more visas next year than in the pre-Covid period.

The US mission in India has issued a record-breaking 82,000 student visas so far in 2022, more than any other country, according to a previous statement issued by the embassy.