The United States Mission to Pakistan on Tuesday said it was taking measures to bring down the visa appointment wait time for Pakistanis while the demand for US visas was the highest it had ever been.

“More than 10,000 Pakistani visa applicants originally scheduled for 2024 at the US Consulate General in Karachi are now receiving notices that their appointments have been rescheduled in 2023, some as early as next week,” the US embassy in Islamabad said in a statement, adding that it was expediting thousands of non-immigrant visa appointments as the first measure to meet “unprecedented demand”.

Jayne Howell, the head of US visa operations in Pakistan, said the move would reduce wait time by three to six months.

The US Mission advised applicants that if they had a visa appointment in the next few months at the US Consulate General in Karachi, they could check their e-mails and log in to their accounts at the embassy’s website to confirm their expedited appointment time.

Moreover, it said to create added flexibility for Pakistani travellers, visa applicants could rebook appointments, at either the Consulate General in Karachi or the US Embassy in Islamabad.

The embassy hoped that this would allow applicants “more freedom and flexibility to find a convenient date, time and location”.

Lastly, it said that beginning from September 25, the Consulate-General would begin accepting new interview waiver applications for some applicants who were previously issued US visas. Applicants could check ustraveldocs.com/pk to determine whether they were eligible, print out a confirmation letter and submit their application materials to a drop box without the need for an appointment, it added.

The mission said the US Embassy was already accepting interview waiver applications for qualified applicants.

“Taken together, these steps demonstrate how deeply the United States values the relationship between our two countries.

“Our goal is to facilitate legitimate travel to the United States as quickly and efficiently as possible — because we know how important it is to stay connected with family, to strengthen business ties, study, and make cultural connections with the United States,” it said.

Opinion

Editorial

Accruing more debt
Updated 28 Sep, 2023

Accruing more debt

We are in midst of the worst, longest economic crisis because of lavish lifestyles of powerful interests.
Israeli normalisation
28 Sep, 2023

Israeli normalisation

OVER the past few weeks, there have been many reports prophesising the impending normalisation of ties between Saudi...
Kandhkot tragedy
28 Sep, 2023

Kandhkot tragedy

THE tragic incident that unfolded yesterday in Sindh’s Kandhkot tehsil, leading to the deaths of at least nine...
More desecration
Updated 27 Sep, 2023

More desecration

Attacks on the Islamic faith are not motivated by an attachment to free speech but by raw hatred.
Worrying remarks
27 Sep, 2023

Worrying remarks

THESE are ominous words from Gwadar. Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, chairman of the Gwadar Haq Do Tehreek, has warned ...
Justice or vendetta?
Updated 27 Sep, 2023

Justice or vendetta?

ONE wonders whether all pretence of the state as a democracy has been whittled down to a point where it has simply...