The US Embassy in New Delhi processed more than 1,000 visitor visa applicants for interviews during the 'Super Saturday' drive.
The US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti joined the embassy team to support the surge and assist in the fingerprint verification process, according to a press release from the embassy.
'Super Saturday' drives, initiated sporadically since 2022, are set to become a quarterly feature going forward.
Ambassador Garcetti said, “The foundation of our US-India partnership is the network of relationships that individuals form when they work, travel, and study in the United States. We’re doing everything we can to facilitate the visa process and support critical people-to-people connections. The US mission in India has increased staffing and harnessed technological innovations to meet the unprecedented demand and process more visas than ever before.”
In 2023, the US Embassy and Consulates in India processed a record-smashing 1.4 million US visas.
The demand for visas across all categories reached unprecedented levels, with a 60 per cent surge in applications compared to 2022. Indians now account for one-tenth of all visa applicants to the US globally.
This was the first of four “Super Saturday” visa processing events planned in 2024. Consulate Mumbai also opened its doors on March 9 for special visa processing hours screening 1,500 visa applicants.
The diverse group of applicants included elderly parents visiting their children, students pursuing education abroad, temporaorkers, tourists, and businessmen, many of whom were first-time visitors.
The consulate has encouraged individuals to apply directly rather than relying on agents, emphasizing the importance of monitoring the consulate's website for visa appointment openings.
