Indian visa applicants require a wait-time of over two years just for getting an appointment, a US government website showed, while the timeframe is only two days for countries like China.
There's an appointment wait-time of 582 days for applications from Hyderabad and 848 days from Mumbai for visitor visas, shows the US State Department's website.
In contrast, the wait-time is only two days for Beijing and 450 days for Islamabad.
For student visas, the wait time is 430 days for Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai. Surprisingly, it's only one day for Islamabad, and two for Beijing.
The backlog is due to a reduction in the staff handling the visa process due to lesser applications during the pandemic, said sources.
A surge in applications for both student and tourist visas during the post-Covid period led to the backlog as they didn't have adequate staff, they explained.
The US State Department has made aggressive plans to staff up all Mission India posts to their highest levels ever, said the official.
New officers are being hired and trained, and consular facilities are being upgraded while a new expanded facility is set to open in Hyderabad in coming months, he said.