All hands on deck at US Consulate Mumbai to reduce visa wait time. Watch

The US has deployed “temporary visa officers” to Mumbai in ongoing efforts to reduce visa wait time for Indians.

“Our incredible team of consular officers have temporarily left their regular duties around the world, from State Department in Washington DC to US Consulate in Naha (Japan), to help out with visa operations in Mumbai,” the US Consulate in Mumbai tweeted on February 28.

An accompanying video revealed that consular officers deputed to Mumbai include Jessica, from Washington DC, who has been tasked with reducing visa interview wait time; Justin, from the US Consulate office in Okinawa, to facilitate travel to the US; Brooke, from the US Consulate in Hong Kong, to boost India-US business opportunities and Dan, whose mission is to support family reunification.
Indians have complained about the long wait time for processing US visas – which touched a high of 848 days last year to get a visa appointment in Mumbai.

Currently, the wait time for a B1 or B2 visa appointment at US Consulate in Mumbai is 694 days, according to the US Embassy and Consulates website.

The US had announced new initiatives in January to cut delays in visa processing in India, including special interviews for first time applicants and increasing strength of consular staff.