Despite the lengthy wait times for visa interviews and exorbitant flights, Indians accounted for the second-largest percentage of foreign tourists to the United States this summer. The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) of the US Commerce Department received the most data from the United Kingdom (970,000) for the April–June 2023 quarter.
The UK and India (510,000 visitors) were followed by Germany (470,000), France (more than 400,000) and Brazil (370,000) in terms of overseas visitors.
At 26,00,000, Canada was the biggest source of visitors who flew into America this summer. Mexico, with which the US shares a land border like Canada, followed, with 720,000 visitors. These two countries remain the biggest source of visitors, considering those who travel by road as well. Travel industry insiders say the number of Indians visiting the US would have been much higher, but for visa delays.
The current wait period for a B1/B2 visitor visa in India is about 1.5 years, against almost three years last winter.
The US State Department website states that although the embassy has made several efforts to reduce the wait time, the B1/B2 interview wait times in Delhi and Mumbai are currently 542 and 596 days, respectively.
It takes 526 days for candidates from Chennai, 539 days from Kolkata, and 506 days from Hyderabad. Up until approximately a month ago, the US embassy had processed over 10,00,000 applications for non-immigrant visas this year, a first for India. Compared to the number handled prior to Covid-19 in 2019 and 2022, this is over 20% more.