Fresh data on the US State Department’s Global Visa Wait Times portal show a marked improvement for Indian applicants. According to figures released late on 6 December, Delhi’s wait for F-1, M-1 and J-1 interviews has dropped from two months to just 15 days, while B-1/B-2 appointments have halved to around three months. Chennai and Kolkata also posted gains, though Mumbai still exceeds nine months for tourist/business visas.
The reduction follows a year of aggressive staffing at US consulates, weekend interview drives, and expanded Dropbox eligibility. For Indian corporates the change is significant: project teams bound for the US can once again plan travel within a quarter, not a year, and graduate students admitted for the spring semester will likely secure slots on time.
![US visa wait times for Indians fall sharply, easing student and business travel]()
Travel consultants caution that appointment availability is fluid; new slots appear randomly and are snapped up within minutes. Applicants should monitor the CGI Federal portal and avoid excessive refreshing that can lock accounts.
Longer-term visa categories (H-1B, L-1) still face multi-month waits, but the State Department says it is on track to process 1.4 million visas in India in fiscal 2026—a record number. Companies with large US-bound mobility flows may wish to revisit their lead-time assumptions and adjust assignment start-date buffers accordingly.
The reduction follows a year of aggressive staffing at US consulates, weekend interview drives, and expanded Dropbox eligibility. For Indian corporates the change is significant: project teams bound for the US can once again plan travel within a quarter, not a year, and graduate students admitted for the spring semester will likely secure slots on time.
Travel consultants caution that appointment availability is fluid; new slots appear randomly and are snapped up within minutes. Applicants should monitor the CGI Federal portal and avoid excessive refreshing that can lock accounts.
Longer-term visa categories (H-1B, L-1) still face multi-month waits, but the State Department says it is on track to process 1.4 million visas in India in fiscal 2026—a record number. Companies with large US-bound mobility flows may wish to revisit their lead-time assumptions and adjust assignment start-date buffers accordingly.
