US appointment delays: Several desi H1B visa holders unable to visit home

NEW DELHI: The good US visa appointment crunch has not solely made it tough for desi visa seekers to go there, but in addition for Indians with H-1B visas working in America to come back residence on private visits. The rationale: they aren’t getting well timed appointments to get their passports stamped at US consulates in India as a way to return to America. Consequently, a number of of them are deferring visits to India.
In actual fact, the US Embassy spokesperson Thursday advised TOI: “Petition-based visa staff with out legitimate visas, together with H-1B specialty occupation staff, ought to keep away from leaving america until they’ve a visa appointment and sufficient time for processing the visa on their journey. The US Embassy can not expedite visa appointments until the journey is to go to a direct member of the family with a severe medical emergency or attend the funeral of a direct member of the family. Such requests should be supported by documentation.”
A US-based immigration lawyer, who didn’t want to be named, stated: “H-1B visa is sort of a work allow that requires the employer to first file a petition in USA. As soon as the identical is authorised, the beneficiary must have the visa stamped within the residence nation. Visa is required for journey out and in of USA and must be present each time somebody enters on a specific visa into USA. In case of an extension of H-1b visa authorised in USA, the worker could must get the visa stamped on the passport earlier than re-entering USA. This occurs when the earlier visa within the passport has expired however worker has a brand new authorised I-797A/ H-1B petition in USA that permits him/her to work for longer interval.”
A number of Indians working within the US on H-1B and their households in India spoke, on the situation of anonymity, in regards to the difficulties they face as a consequence of lengthy visa appointment wait occasions.
“If an H-1B visa holder is coming to, say, Mumbai, the passport stamping appointment can come for any metropolis like Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Delhi. Then on a brief journey a day or two — aside from lot of cash — is spent in going there for the aim,” stated an IT skilled.
On this concern, the US Embassy spokesperson stated: “The US authorities doesn’t require candidates to decide on a selected location for his or her visa appointments. Visa candidates are free to decide on the town the place their visa software might be adjudicated.”
In the intervening time, the appointment wait time for a first-time US visa applicant in India extends proper upto April 2024. A wait of some months awaits those that usually are not first time candidates.
“What makes it agonising is that the each dad and mom and kids are determined for a reunion after Covid however that intent shouldn’t be translating into actuality. The chaos is at each ends. Kids (working in US on H-1B) usually are not capable of go to India. Mother and father right here usually are not having the ability to be with their youngsters in USA due to excruciatingly lengthy visa appointment dates. Solely zoom and video calls preserve us going whilst we bemoan the extended separation,” stated a Mumbai-based father of knowledgeable working within the US.
Consequently, H-1B visa holders are compelled to skip vital capabilities or medical emergencies again residence for the worry of getting caught in India if they arrive with no prior consulate appointment. “My Washington-based software program engineer daughter-in-law desires to attend her sister’s marriage ceremony in Gurugram however is more likely to miss the occasion as a result of she has did not safe an appointment date even after attempting for six months. If she leaves the US to attend the marriage, she runs the danger of dropping her job if she’s not capable of make it again to the US inside a sure time period,” stated her father-in-law.
“A pregnant individual wished her mom to be along with her however she couldn’t be along with her as a result of she didn’t get a visa date in India. A software program engineer’s mom had a severe foot damage in Noida. He wished to go to her however couldn’t for need of an appointment date. The earliest stamping date he was getting was in December,” stated relations of those folks.
“When an applicant visited the visa Centre in Might at Delhi, three out of 11 counters have been purposeful. Final week, as per an applicant, solely two counters have been purposeful. Scarcity of workers is being allowed to proceed with out efficient measures being taken,” stated an individual who’s trying ahead to assembly his engineer son within the US.