In a major update to visitors’ visas, the US Consulate in Kolkata announced that it is launching priority slots for parents aged 50 and above who want to visit their children living legally in the US. “We are helping lower wait times for eligible travelers with established relationships and verified intentions,” the announcement said. The Consulate called it “American first in family values.”Kolkata Consulate also announced a new visa scheduling system for verified business travelers. “The Kolkata Consulate is introducing a new visa scheduling system that puts legitimate business travelers at the front of the queue. “Supporting trade, investment, and economic growth between the US and India: because when trade grows, America grows,” he declared.B1/B2 visa applicants have recently started seeing higher rejection rates, as visa experts have observed that visa officers are doubly emphasizing that these tourist or business visa applicants have strong ties to India and will not settle in the US.Before the official announcement, visa expert Priyesh Sharma said that these new categories were visible only for accounts selecting embassy/consulate as Kolkata. Sharma said the Consulate opened four new categories under B1/B2:
- Business Professional (conditions apply)
- Parents visiting children with legal status (conditions apply)
- General Tourism and Travel (open to all applicants without record of refusal)
- Recent Visa Rejection (24 months)
“I can’t really say what could be the motive behind this and whether it will soon be implemented on all other consulates/embassies, but I guess it will be used as an important dataset to manage the large number of applications for slot allocation and their administrative functions. It’s not that when you apply for a new visa, the officer is not aware of your previous denials, but by bringing a category they will just be able to differentiate between fresh vs duplication. And there may even be a separate internal SOP for those with past disapproval,” Sharma said.
