US visa norms ease for Indian tourists, students

Times of India

Indians renewing visas to the US within four years will be exempted from a personal interview. Announcing this here on Wednesday, assistant secretary of state for consular affairs Janice Jacobs said the new rules would apply to visa categories B1, B2, C and D. Jacobs, who is here for the US-India consular dialogue, is likely to face New Delhi's concern about the growing rate of rejection of Indian work visas by the US.

"This new programme will permit consular officers to waive interviews for some qualified applicants who are renewing their visa within 48 months or four years, of expiration of their previous visa and within the same classification as the previous visa," Jacobs said. She clarified that these new rules would apply "for tourists, business travelers, crew members and for students."

"Beginning today, our consulates in India are introducing a new programme to streamline the visa renewal process. Over time, this programme has the potential to benefit hundreds of thousands of visa applicants here in India," she said.