The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a fiscal‑2025 audit on Monday that pegged the average wait for a visitor‑visa interview in India at 346 days. It recorded 1,455,255 applications and 68 consular officers in the country, meaning roughly 21,401 applications per officer.
India tops the list of 10 countries with the longest interview waits, with China at 34 days, Brazil at 32 days, and Mexico—whose officer‑to‑application ratio mirrors India's—at 283 days.
Audit officials said the bottleneck stems from too few interview windows and a staff shortage that grew after the pandemic. "High demand and too few officers after the pandemic hampered our ability to clear backlogs," a State Department official told the auditors.
The embassy in New Delhi currently operates from a handful of windows, and a planned move to a new compound will not increase capacity. State Department staff also cited the role of paid visa agents, who reserve slots and sell them to clients.
At the time of writing, a family of four in Chandni Chowk has already waited 11 months for a single interview slot, according to an interview with a local resident.
The audit recommends boosting consular staffing and expanding interview windows. The State Department has pledged to review staffing levels ahead of the next fiscal year, aiming to reduce the backlog before the new budget cycle.