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Mumbai tops list for US visas
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, January 9: Mumbai has topped the Indian charts with its sheer appetite for US visas. It has emerged as the busiest visa section in South Asia, revealed Bruce McKenzie, chief of the US consular section.From 42,000 visas issued to applicants in 1995 to 63,000 in 1996 and then a staggering 78,225 last year, the number of non-immigrant visas issued from the US consulate in Mumbai has been on the rise. Said McKenzie at a press meet at the US consulate on Friday, forty per cent of all US visas is issued to Indians. Other visa sections in centres like Taiwan and Seoul, South Korea are ahead in visa issuals only by virtue of their being the sole centres in the country. In India, US visa sections in the four metros cater to visa requests from four zones, the largest being Mumbai, catering to the western zone. McKenzie said the US government was considering a proposal to double the application fee for visas from the present 20 US dollars (Rs 800) to nearly 45 US dollars (Rs 1620).
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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