Indian-American member of US prez panel welcomes release of 250K visa slots

An Indian-American member of the Presidential Commission for Asian-Americans has welcomed the move to release an additional 2.5 lakh visa appointments by the US Mission in India. The US Mission in India opened the additional slots for travellers -- including tourists, skilled workers and students -- officials said on Monday. The recently released slots will help Indian applicants take timely interviews, facilitating the travel which is the backbone of the people-to-people ties that underpin the US-India relationship, they said. Reacting to the development, Ajay Bhutoria -- a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) -- said on Monday, "This is the direct result of one of my recommendations submitted earlier on the White House AANHPI commission. "I am grateful to the US Embassy in India, particularly (US) Ambassador (to India) Eric Garcetti, for their dedicated efforts in addressing visa appointment wait times.