A recent analysis from the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.- based think tank, indicates that wait times for US visa processing have reached their lowest point since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Cato Institute reports that wait times for student visa interviews are averaging 49 days as of July 2022 (five times the pre-pandemic average of ten days). A recent analysis from the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.- based think tank, indicates that wait times for US visa processing have reached their lowest point since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The case is simply the backlog of visa files stockpiled in US consulates and embassies across the globe during an expanded processing closure during the pandemic. The associate director of the Institute, David Bier, stated that You can't just shut down an entire bureaucracy for more than a year and not expect to have a cascade of consequences.

Due to COVID-19 health and safety dimensions, non-immigrant visa interviews at US Embassay in Nairobi terminated for over a year. As we work via the backlog of applications and address the high demand for services, we acknowledge that some applicants may face extended visa interview wait times. It is a universal problem that US embassies are ardently striving to address.

Presently, the first available dates for a visitor visa appointment in Nairobi are in June 2004. The data of the State Department displays that processing times vary widely, not only by visa class but also by diplomatic post.

As of July 2022, students applying through Dhaka (551 days), Abu Dhabi (310 days), and Istanbul (428 days) will bear some of the most extended delays for their visa interviews. In contrast, those applying through consulates or embassies such as Bangkok (7 days), Beijing (2 days), and Ho Chi Minh City (6 days) will encounter wait times below pre-pandemic averages.

Mr. Bier added that these statistics do not involve a shadow backlog of applicants desiring to renew their temporary visas. The State Department has waived the requirement to acquire an interview for most travelers who had previously held a visa in the last four years. But consulates are executing this policy in diverse ways. Some consulates allow revival applicants to submit their paperwork through the mail. Other need applicants to drop off in person. Others often still demand applicants be interviewed anyway.

Amid rising calls for the US administration to act to facilitate visa processing times, the Cato Institute report points as well that there is precedent for administrative intervention when wait times become extreme. The last time visa wait times increased above a few months. President Obama instructed that 80% of all temporary visas be issued in less than 21 days. This executive instruction (and the knowledge that it was coming) directly brought visa wait times down to a few days, but former President Trump abandoned the order, and President Biden has failed to re-issue it.

The visa processing waits for US-bound applications are severely unusual this year as most other major destinations are dealing with significant backlogs also.