Sunday, December 29, 2024 The U.S. Embassy and its consulates in India have achieved a significant milestone by issuing over one million non-immigrant visas for the second consecutive year, reflecting the robust demand among Indians for travel to the United States.
This achievement underscores the strong interest among Indian citizens in visiting the U.S. for various purposes, including tourism, business, education, and medical treatment.
Non-immigrant visas facilitate temporary entry into the United States for these activities. In the past four years, the number of visitors from India has increased fivefold. More than two million Indians traveled to the United States in the first eleven months of 2024, marking a 26% increase over the same period in 2023.
Currently, over five million Indians hold non-immigrant visas, with thousands more being issued daily. The U.S.
Department of State completed a successful pilot program to renew H-1B visas within the United States this year. This initiative allowed many specialty occupation workers from India to renew their visas without leaving the country, streamlining the process for thousands of applicants. The Department plans to formally establish a U.
S.-based renewal program in 2025. In addition to non-immigrant visas, the U.
S. Mission in India has issued tens of thousands of immigrant visas, facilitating legal family reunification and the migration of skilled professionals. These immigrant visa holders have gone on to become permanen.
