US visitor visa interview waits in India averaged 346 days in 2025

A federal audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that the average wait for a U.S. visitor visa interview in India was 346 days during fiscal year 2025. This figure represents more than eight times the pre-pandemic average of 42 days.

The delay is attributed to high demand exceeding available consular staffing. In fiscal 2025, India saw approximately 1.45 million nonimmigrant visa applications, which were processed by only 68 consular officers. This workload averages roughly 21,401 applications per officer.

The GAO noted that the 346-day figure refers specifically to the historical average time required to secure an interview, rather than the total time taken to reach a final visa decision. Compared to other major markets, India's wait times were significantly higher than those in China and Brazil, which averaged 34 and 32 days, respectively.