[MisterSandman]

The wait times for US Tourist Visas for Indians is 1-2 years right now. I have a friend who applied 3 months and her interview date is in January 2025.

I mean, I'm not saying you shouldn't complain about this, but I find it funny that Americans are mad about spending the 30 minutes and $30 to fill out a form. Seems entitled.

[version_five]

India and the US are not roughly on par economically, standard of living wise, etc. There are lots of reasons why tighter restrictions are needed here that don't apply between the US and Europe, where it's really just political tit for tat.

[cute_boi]

The context is missing here. It is important to remember that many Americans visit the EU for short stays and tourism, while in the US, some people from various countries, including India, come for longer durations or even with intentions to stay permanently. The sheer volume of visa applications and varying lengths of stay could contribute to longer processing times.

[sometimes_all]

Many Indians also want to visit the EU/US for short days and tourism, or for other very valid and legitimate reasons. These can be with a long history of not breaking visa norms of other countries, and yet face delays of 2+ years. It's not that these delays cannot be reduced; there's just no will to do that.

It makes my blood boil that I have to endure a disproportionate burden of proof on myself:

- demonstrate good financial status, have already booked tickets and accommodation (which might end up becoming a sunk cost because a bad visa result came too near to my travel date, making refunds impossible) even though visa isn't guaranteed

- a very long list of paperwork to complete and sort

- wait for multiple years to boot for an appointment where my application can get rejected, sometimes for really frivolous reasons

just to ensure I am there for, say, my brother's graduation, a moment which will come only once in my lifetime. Meanwhile, people from other countries and with a way worse profile than mine can walk into the same country, no questions asked. They don't have to demonstrate that they're really great people with absolutely no intention of staying there for ever. In fact they can even make that decision on a whim; what's there to stop them from staying permanently in the other country even if it's not for a "good" cause?

Don't treat people as criminals/paragons of virtue solely based on the country they come from.

[cultofmetatron]

as a US citizen, I'll give you the straight truth. it comes down to racism. indians come in and pretty much dominate wherever they go. most hotels and gas stations (and hospitals and pharmaceuticals) are indian/Chinese dominated industries and the whites need some level of protectionism to compete.

[jgerrish]

I try not to get involved in these kinds of discussions. But you lobbed this out there, so I feel like this community can benefit from a personal story.

I'm not white. I'm human. Or just: I am.

I had an Indian friend growing up. Wonderful man. One of the few in our predominantly white township.

His parents owned a hotel.

And they inspired a desire for education and learning in him.

I ran into him in the university town of one of the top state universities one day after being rejected myself. It was awkward, but it also made me happy.

I recognize there are maybe cultural differences with strict parenting styles. But regardless, that hotel gave his parents a space to raise a damn nice kid who made something of himself.

[2Crisp]

If this were remotely the case one would expect Americans to be the ones clamoring to get to India

[martin8412]

It is simple applied statistics.

[bubblethink]

>The context is missing here.

What you provided is not context though, just some word salad rationalization. Visas are a function of bilateral and diplomatic relations which in turn are a function of the power differential between the two parties. That's all there is to it.