'There will be significant wait for visa appointment,' says US embassy in India
The mission expressed gratitude for people's patience as "they seek to enhance their capacity and ensure the safety of the applicants and personnel."
FollowAccording to the US Embassy in India, there may be significant appointment wait times for numerous non-immigrant visa categories while the country recovers from the COVID-19-related delays. Beginning November 8, an estimated three million Indian visa holders with proof of immunisation would be permitted to travel to the United States under the new international air travel policy, according to the embassy. "Our first aim is to facilitate genuine travel to promote our strong and expanding bilateral connections. We anticipate high appointment wait times for various non-immigrant visa categories at our Embassy and Consulates while we recover from COVID-19-related disruptions," it stated.
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The mission expressed gratitude for people's patience as "they seek to enhance their capacity and ensure the safety of the applicants and personnel." The US Embassy described the vaccination requirements, saying that beginning November 8, foreign national air travellers to the US will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of vaccination status before boarding an aeroplane to fly to the US, with only limited exceptions.
The embassy further indicated that the CDC has decided that vaccines appropriate for entrance into the United States would include those that are FDA approved or permitted, as well as those that have a World Health Organization emergency use listing.
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In other news, a federal court has accepted a settlement in which the US Citizenship and Immigration Services has agreed to qualify market research analysts as speciality employment to determine a foreign professional's H-1B visa application. This is a significant victory for H-1B companies. The USCIS determined that market research analysts did not qualify as a "speciality occupation" based on its past reading of the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics publication that profiles hundreds of jobs in the US employment market.
