Not enough staff in Hyderabad US consulate

Hyderabad: The US Consulate in Hyderabad does not have enough staff.
Every day each officer conducts 100 student visa interviews. The lack of staff is resulting in a long wait for students who have applied for visas.

Though the rush is only during the summer, many students whose waiting time ought to be two to three weeks now have to wait for a month to get a slot, US consulate officials said.

Also the consulate counsels students not to fall prey to fraudulent education consultants who provide fake papers. “The US consulate in Hyderabad is severely under staffed; we are working with the Indian government on increasing the number of diplomats. We witness heavy rush of application — over 1,000, during summer. Presently we have 17 officials who conduct around 100 interviews per day. Our new consulate at Gachibowli which is the largest consulate section in India, will have 52 interview windows,” said Mr Jaime Fouss, consular chief at the US Consulate here.

The authorities also warned students not to produce fake documents. “The consulate checks on the education and financial documents while approving the student visa. Our officials are well trained to identify fake bank accounts. If caught the student is likely to be arrested and blacklisted. The student will never be able to enter the US,” he said.

The US consulate has counselling centres, at the St Francis Degree College, Begumpet (where a walk-in is allowed on Thursdays), and another at the consulate where an appointment is required. “Students can also check the website,’’ the diplomat added.

According to US consulate records, the number of student visa applications in the last three years had  increased by 80 per cent. The consulate observed Student Visa Day on Thursday when a few students were given their visas the same day. Currently, 1.32 lakh Indian students are enrolled in US institutions of higher education, making them the second largest group after the Chinese.