Paul Graham on visa delays: 'Inefficiency of this magnitude makes America look incompetent'

Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham called the US visa process inefficient. (Image credit: @paulg/Twitter)

Paul Graham, the co-founder of  startup accelerator and seed capital firm Y Combinator, on Monday shared a scathing assessment of the problems with processing US visas.

Sharing an excerpt from a Wall Street Journal report on the current waiting period for US visas, Graham called the process inefficient.

"Inefficiency of this magnitude makes America look incompetent. Because it is incompetent; this is banana republic level performance," he tweeted.

Inefficiency of this magnitude makes America look incompetent. Because it is incompetent; this is banana republic level performance. https://t.co/aV32M3lYun

— Paul Graham (@paulg) October 10, 2022

According to the report, in Delhi it takes more than 800 days or about three years to get an appointment for a non-immigrant visitor visa.

Several Twitter users joined Paul Graham in criticising the US visa processing system.

@paulg It seems more intentional than incompetent. Why do we have leaky borders for unskilled workers that do not both with due process while creating barriers for skilled workers following due process? — Michael Halbert (@M_Halbert) October 10, 2022

As an American, I've always been deeply embarrassed by the experience of coming back into the country compared to entering other nations. Our customs personnel are lazy, rude, low IQ, and clearly don't care about anyone they are dealing with.

— River Parrish (@RiverParrish1) October 10, 2022

Many others viewed it as a punishment for India choosing to stay neutral amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

USCIS is definitely one of the most incompetent agencies but this is bad even by their pathetic standards. It is being increasingly seen as one of the steps US is talking to punish India for taking a more neutral position on Russia's war on Ukraine — Ram (@ramprasad_c) October 10, 2022

It’s probably being ignored to collectively punish India https://t.co/Sc399YeDzt

— sphinx (@protosphinx) October 10, 2022

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal report stated that the pandemic aggravated the "dysfunction" in the US visa process didn’t create it. It also stated that for many Indian Americans, one of the country's largest immigrant populations, this dysfunction is becoming "personally untenable". Even permanent US residents with family in India are likely to reconsider working in the US if relatives and friends have to wait years for a short visit.

In September, clarifying on the long wait times for US visas, Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs Don Heflin had said that more Indians are hitting the US than ever. The visa applications are at a record high.

"We are recovering from COVID-19 and post-COVID scenario and other embassies have very similar wait times. We are also getting some help as Washington is coming out with temporary counsellors and personnel to cut down wait times," Heflin added.

Read more: US embassy to open 100,000 slots for H and L worker visa categories, resume interviews for student visas