US embassy in Pakistan reduces appointment wait time for these types of visas
Celina Ali
Islamabad: The United States Embassy in Pakistan this week reduced appointment wait times for specific visa types from 440 to 230 days.
Through this move, authorities aim to facilitate the visa application procedure for several categories, including student visas, business visas, and family reunion visas, VisaGuide.World reports.
Prior to this move, the US Embassy in Islamabad and Karachi processed nearly 10,000 applications monthly. With the new initiative, this capacity is expected to increase further.
Those who have sent their visa applications will find it noteworthy to know that the embassy has launched a system for case reviews through emails. This implies that every application will be handled individually while decisions will be made usually within three to four working days after the interview.
Regarding fees, the embassy explained that it charges only the regular application fee in accordance with the global visa application fees.
Official statistics show that the number of US visas granted to Pakistani nationals has significantly surged over the past three years.
According to the country’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, 107,183 Pakistanis obtained US visas in the 2023 fiscal year, representing a 32 percent increase compared to 2022.
Meanwhile, the highest share of visas granted to Pakistani citizens in 2023 were for tourism and business purposes.
In addition to the overall figures, the US saw an increase in the number of Pakistani students, as revealed during a recent informative session on Facebook by the US Embassy in Pakistan.
More specifically, the number of active Pakistani students in the US surged by 16 percent.
More than 10,000 Pakistani students were studying in the US for the 2022/3023 school year, a 16 percent increase from the previous year.
Meanwhile, during the 2023 fiscal year, the US granted 3,848 student visas to Pakistanis, including F1 and F2.
With the reduced waiting appointment wait times, the number of student visas is expected to increase further.
