Ballard said, "We recently opened up 2.5 lakh of B1/B2 visa appointments throughout India and we have dozens of officers, who have come from embassies around the world and Washington DC, specifically to help us to conduct interviews for first-time B1/B2 applicants".
He said that consulates were opened on Saturday and will be open even during February and March to accelerate the process.
"We will be fully staffed by the end of the summer. We expect to process a record number of visas this year with these initiatives," he added.
The US official said that the embassy has almost reached its pre-pandemic levels of visa processing, and expects to surpass those levels this year.
"Last year, we adjudicated over 8,00,000 total visa adjudications and we are almost up to our pre-pandemic levels, which we expect to surpass in 2023," Ballard said.
Currently, the wait time for Indians applying for work visas ranges from 60-280 days, while for travellers, it is around one and a half years.
On visa renewal, the consular suggested that the applicants can send their application by email, and added, "adjudications are just part of the many initiatives that we are currently undertaking to help reduce the backlog for visa wait times".
Ballard emphasized that issuances and refusals for any visa category depending on the individual applicant and the category of visa they are applying for.
"B1/B2 visa applicants must be able to demonstrate the purpose of their travel to the US and their ties to India that would ensure their return," the official said.
