Visa appointments scheduled may be rescheduled if applicants find earlier appointments but will not be cancelled by the embassy.
Appointments in every visa classification will be issued, US embassy said. The delays or cancellations that occurred in 2021 will not affect visa at this moment, a representative of the US Embassy told Hindustan Times’ business website Livemint. Visa appointments scheduled may be rescheduled if applicants find earlier appointments but will not be cancelled by the embassy, the representative further said.
Explaining the process, the representative said that anyone who wishes to request an emergency non-immigrant visa appointment must schedule a walk-in appointment. After this, the candidate may submit an emergency appointment request. However, some criterion will apply in order to qualify for emergency appointments.
“We cannot expedite interview waiver appointments in any visa classification. Visa applicants with an existing interview waiver appointment and you wish to request an emergency appointment, you must first cancel your existing interview waiver appointment, then make a first timer (walk-in) appointment and then request the emergency appointment,” the representative said.
There has been a high volume of visa requests with the US embassy in India facing severe backlog. Citing reduced staffing and pandemic-related disruptions in operations since March 2020, the embassy said that the demand for visas across all categories is high. The wait times have thus been longer for most non-immigrant visa appointments at the embassy in New Delhi and the consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai.