Hyderabad: The demand for visas to visit the United States is one of the highest in the country at the US Consulate General in Hyderabad, and the newly opened Consul office, with a capacity to process up to 3,500 consular appointments, is gearing up to improve the number of appointments and other services, the Consulate officials stated.
Previously, when functioning from Paigah Palace in Begumpet, the maximum appointments reached was 1,100 through 16 windows. With 54 windows at the new US Consulate General in Nanakramguda, it is now possible to process up to 3,500 appointments per day, including US citizen services and visa applications, once staff strength is boosted to the needed level. Consulate General Jennifer Larson told the media at a press conference on Wednesday that the process of increasing staff is underway.
Across the country, the US missions, including consular offices in different states, and the US embassy in New Delhi, the ‘Mission India’ target of achieving over a million visa applications a year is underway. She said a large component of demand for visas comes from students, and to help them make informed decisions on their education plans in the US, the Consulate, through the US-India Educational Foundation, and Education USA offers free guidance and counselling to students at their office in Jubilee Hills, she added.
David Moyer, the Public Affairs Officer at the Consulate, stated that there has been a long history of Telugu-speaking students desiring to study in the United States. “There are currently some 2 lakh students in the US from this part of the country,” he said.
According to Rebekah Drame, the Consular Chief, the Consulate also provides services to American citizens, one lakh of whom are currently visiting or working in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha states. These three states are the catchment area for the US Consulate General in Hyderabad.
She said those seeking visas, especially if they held one in the past, can use the drop box facility that will ease the process for them as it waives interviews, adding that applicants seeking a different category visa than the one they held earlier too can use this facility. However, those who have been denied a visa in the past are not advised to use this service.
She said that the Consulate makes efforts to meet student visa requirements and those who may not have enough time to get an interview appointment, can seek redressal seeking expedited services.
