"Have Zero Tolerance": USCancels 2,000 Visa Appointments By "Bots" In India

B1 and B2 visas, meant for business and tourism, have seen significant backlogs in recent years.

New Delhi:

The US Embassy in India cancelled over 2,000 visa applications due to fraud-related activities. The embassy detected major violations in the appointment system by "bad actors" or bots and suspended their accounts, it said on Wednesday.

"Consular Team India is cancelling about 2,000 visa appointments made by bots. We have zero tolerance for agents and fixers that violate our scheduling policies," the US Embassy wrote in a post on X.

"Effective immediately, we are cancelling these appointments and suspending the associated accounts' scheduling privileges," they added.

Business and tourism-related B1 and B2 visa backlogs have grown significantly in recent years. With 800–1,000 day wait times in 2022–2023, the United States opened visa appointments for Indian applicants in Frankfurt and Bangkok.

Concerns regarding visa delays were brought up with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2022 by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who blamed the backlog on the Covid-19 pandemic. In January of this year, Mr. Jaishankar addressed the second Trump administration once more about these issues.

"I don't think the partnership is properly served if the waiting period for a visa exceeds 400 days or more. Following his bilateral discussion with US Senator Marco Rubio, during which immigration-related matters were discussed, Mr. Jaishankar stated, "He (Marco Rubio) also noted that point."

Denials of student visas have increased in addition to those for business and tourist. The United States received 6.79 lakh applications for F-1 student visas in FY 23-24 (October 2023–September 2024), but rejected 2.79 lakh of them. Compared to the previous year, when 36% of 6.99 lakh applications were rejected, this rejection rate of 41% represents a significant increase.

The rejection rate, which was 15% in 2014, has already almost tripled. Universities and international students have been impacted by the decrease in the overall number of visas granted.

According to reports, the number of student visas granted to Indian students in the first nine months of 2024 decreased by 38% when compared to the same time in 2023, even though country-specific rejection statistics are not formally released.