India's US Visa Wait Times Hit Record High
US visa officers in India handled an unprecedented workload of nonimmigrant visa applications in fiscal year 2025, averaging over 21,000 applications per officer. With just 68 consular officers processing 1.46 million applications, the weighted average interview wait stretched to a staggering 346 days.
This is the longest among major countries examined by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), surpassing even Mexico's 283-day wait time. In comparison, China had 119 officers handling 1.2 million applications, while Brazil had 87 officers and Mexico had 124 officers.
The sharp increase in interview waits coincided with a staffing pressure caused by inadequate staffing compared to demand. Consular officials attributed this to a hiring freeze, reduction in force, and attrition, which led to lower staffing levels limiting the number of interviews that posts could conduct.
The State Department's global staffing exercise was not completed in FY24 and FY25, despite high demand keeping interview waits elevated. The GAO recommended establishing a policy requiring consistent completion of this exercise to assess workloads and determine staff movements between posts.