NEW DELHI: The lifting of restrictions by US on fully vaccinated travellers from India starting November 8 has seen processing time for American visas go up significantly.

The US embassy in India on Saturday warned of “significant appointment wait times for some non-immigrant visa categories.”During the pandemic this is a phenomena seen regularly — long waiting time for visa processing of countries that open their doors to travellers from abroad.

As we build back from Covid-19 related interruptions, we expect significant appointment wait times for some non-immigrant visa categories at our embassy and consulates. Thank you for your patience while we work to increase our capacity and maintain the safety of our applicants and staff.”

“From November 8, an estimated 30 lakh visa holders from India, with proof of vaccination, will be able to travel to the United States under the new international air travel policy. Facilitating legitimate travel to support our strong and growing bilateral ties is our top priority. As we build back from Covid-19 related interruptions, we expect significant appointment wait times for some non-immigrant visa categories at our embassy and consulates. Thank you for your patience while we work to increase our capacity and maintain the safety of our applicants and staff.”

Describing the vaccination requirements for travellers, the US embassy website says: “Starting on November 8, foreign national air travellers to the US will be required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the United States, with only limited exceptions. The CDC has determined that for the purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include those FDA approved or authorised, as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO).”

“Covishield will be accepted for the purposes of entry into the United States since it has an EUL from WHO (For a full list of vaccines in the Emergency Use Listing process see the WHO website: According to the CDC, people are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine."

“Fully vaccinated air travellers will still be required to show documentation of apre-departure negative viral test from a sample taken within three days of travel to the US before boarding. That includes all travellers – US citizens, lawful permanent residents and foreign nationals,” it adds.