NEW DELHI, Oct 31: The United States Embassy in New Delhi has cautioned Indians keen to travel to the US about a possible long wait for visa in view of the interruptions caused by the Covid pandemic.
It said the authorities were resuming issuance of visa but because of the backlog caused due to the pandemic interruption, “there will be significant appointment wait times for some non-immigrant visa categories as it builds back from Covid-19 related interruptions.”
It said from November 8, an estimated three million visa holders from India, with proof of vaccination, will be able to travel to the United States under the new international air travel policy. “Facilitating legitimate travel to support our strong and growing bilateral ties is our top priority. As we build back from Covid-19-related interruptions, we expect significant appointment wait times for some nonimmigrant visa categories at our Embassy and Consulates,” it said.
The mission thanked people for their patience while “we work to increase our capacity and maintain the safety of our applicants and staff.”
Describing the vaccination requirements, the US Embassy said starting November 8, foreign national air travellers to the US would be required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the US, with only limited exceptions.
“The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has determined that for the purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include those FDA approved or authorized, as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO),” it said.
The embassy said Covishield would be accepted for the purposes of entry into the US since it has an emergency use listing from the WHO.
(Manas Dasgupta)
