New Delhi: The US Embassy in India on Monday informed visa applicants that its customer service centre is shifting to a new platform.

Customer calls and appointment booking will hence be suspended from July 26-28 and fee payment services suspended from July 25-28. The services will resume on July 29.

“Attention! Our customer service center is migrating to a new platform. Customer calls and appointment bookings will be suspended from July 26-28. Fee payment services will be suspended from July 25-28. All services will resume on July 29,” the US Embassy in India tweeted on Monday.

Meanwhile, United States Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, recently said that the wait time for first-time tourist visa interviews has been reduced by more than 50 per cent, adding that goal for 2023 is to process at least one million visas.

Speaking at IIT Delhi, Garcetti highlighted the progress made in visa processing, stating that the US Mission in India is currently processing visas faster than ever before.

Addressing the audience at IIT Delhi, Garcetti said, "We're already doing this. We're currently processing more visas, faster, than the US Mission in India ever has before. We have set a goal for ourselves to process at least a million visas in 2023, and we're already more than halfway towards reaching that goal."

"Our investments have brought real results, and we've seen wait times for first-time tourist visa interviews fall by more than 50 per cent," he added.

To remove barriers that hinder qualified travellers from experiencing the United States, Garcetti emphasized the need to expand operations.

The US Ambassador said that they will continue to invest in expanding the visa operations and broadening the team.

"We'll find innovative solutions to streamline the visa process, such as reducing the need for in-person interviews, which allows consular teams around the world to assist in processing visas for the growing number of Indian travellers," the envoy said.

Starting July 29, applicants can reach the Embassy's customer service centre at the new email address, support-india@usvisascheduling.com. For more information, applicants can visit the USTravelDocs website.