Indian applicants faced an average wait of 346 days for a US visitor visa interview in fiscal 2025, the longest among four major visa-processing countries examined by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The GAO report, published on 28 September, found that 68 consular officers were assigned to handle about 1.46 million nonimmigrant visa applications in India during the year. That amounted to about 21,401 applications per officer.

The report compared India with Brazil, China and Mexico. Mexico recorded an average visitor visa interview wait of 283 days, while the comparable figures were 34 days for China and 32 days for Brazil.

The GAO attributed the longer queues partly to shortages of consular staff relative to application volumes. Across the US visa system, visitor visa adjudications recovered from 1.5 million in fiscal 2021 to 11.7 million in fiscal 2025, exceeding the 9.2 million recorded before the pandemic in fiscal 2019.

Staffing, however, failed to keep pace. The number of consular officers assigned to nonimmigrant visas declined from 1,342 in fiscal 2024 to 904 in fiscal 2025, partly because of hiring freezes and staff departures.

The GAO found that the State Department had not consistently carried out its system for assessing staffing requirements across consular posts. It recommended regular assessments to better match personnel with visa demand.

Current waits vary across Indian cities

The 346-day figure is a historical average for fiscal 2025, not the current waiting period for every applicant. According to the US State Department’s 17 September appointment data, the estimated wait until the next available B1/B2 visitor visa appointment stood at 12 months in Hyderabad, 11.5 months in Mumbai and 10 months in New Delhi.

The corresponding estimates were 7.5 months in Chennai and 6.5 months in Kolkata. Waiting periods for student and employment-related visa categories were generally shorter. The State Department cautions that these figures are estimates and can change as embassies and consulates release additional appointments.

The GAO also identified economic consequences from the processing delays. International tourism contributed $176 billion to the US economy in 2025, about $28 billion below pre-pandemic levels, partly because of lengthy visa interview waits.