By IANS
Lucknow : Admitting that there was “unavoidable subjectivity” in granting visas, a US diplomat said that visa applications were rejected only when applicants failed to convince officials that they would return to India.
Claiming that 80 percent applicants were granted visas, Peter Kaestner, minister for consular affairs in the US embassy, said at a press conference here Thursday: “There is no denying that the interview for grant of visa is very subjective and anything that is subjective cannot be perfect; it is really unfortunate but that is how it is.
“But let me tell you that rejections are made only where applicants fail to convince visa officials that they would return to India and not stick on in US.”
Admitting that shortage of time and lack of communication skills could also end up in visas being denied, the diplomat maintained: “But let me tell you, applications get rejected largely because they start giving tutored replies to routine queries.”
He advised applicants “to remain honest in their replies and not get guided by agents and touts”.
Kaestner rejected suggestions that religion was any criterion and said: “We don’t consider race or religion while issuing visas to Indians nor do we ask the applicant about these things.
“As far as we are concerned, we do not even have any column for declaring the religion of any applicant,” he added, stressing that there was no change in the in the visa policy after 9/11 vis-à-vis Muslims.
Disclosing the embassy’s plans for expanding visa services in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and establishing a new consulate in Hyderabad, Kaestner said there were also plans to set up an ‘American Presence Post’ in Lucknow for direct communication between the US and people in the state.
“Though the proposed post would not be equipped to deal with visa issues, it would serve as a forum for building commercial, cultural relations and for apprising people about America’s literary achievements,” he clarified.