Pic courtesy: ANI
New Delhi: The waiting time for H-1B might get shorter in 2022 with the United States allowing its consular officers to waive in-person interviews, the State Department said on Thursday.
“The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in profound reductions in the department’s visa processing capacity,” it said in a statement. “As global travel rebounds, we are taking these temporary steps to further our commitment to safely and efficiently reduce visa wait times while maintaining national security as our priority.”
The consular officers will now be temporarily authorised to waive in-person interviews for nearly a dozen visa categories, including Persons in Specialty Occupations (H-1B visas), visas for students, temporary agricultural and non-agricultural workers, student exchange visitors, as well as athletes, artists and entertainers.
State Department also said it has extended indefinitely the authorisation to waive the in-person interview for applicants renewing a visa in the same visa class within 48 months of the prior visa’s expiration.
New Delhi: The combination of air defence weapon systems — those possessed by the Indian…
Bhubaneswar: Tension prevailed at an engineering college hostel in Bhubaneswar after a dead lizard was…
Bhubaneswar: Even as Durga Puja festivities gripped shrines across Odisha, thieves reportedly looted valuables, including…
Kolkata: To ensure that inmates don’t feel left out, correctional home authorities in Bengal have…
Bhubaneswar: Veteran leader and former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has reacted to the statements…
New Delhi: Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump said on Friday that Israel should target…
New Delhi: Unidentified persons on Friday murdered Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Ajit Pawar faction leader Sachin…
Bhubaneswar: The CID Crime Branch of Odisha Police is now probing the mysterious death of…