US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Rena Bitter on February 22 expressed her excitement about visiting India and highlighted the 'explosion' in travel between India and the US. US Bureau of Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Rena Bitter also spoke over H1B visas issue. "We're very excited to be here. This is the 11th annual dialogue on consular issues that we've had with our partners in the Indian government. There are a lot of issues for us to cover and a lot of really good news for us to cover. We'll talk a lot about the incredible explosion in travel between the United States and India. Today, more Indians can travel to the United States than at any other time in our history. We'll also talk about some of the issues that reflect the really strong family ties between the United States and India," she said. "More Indians can travel to the United States than at any other time in our history. Last year, this mission adjudicated 1.4 million visas, the most in many, many years. We've made tremendous progress. There is no wait time in virtually every category of visas that we issue. There is a wait time for some travelers, but there are mechanisms for being able to expedite humanitarian cases, for being able to expedite business visas. But beyond that, in the last year we have reduced wait times by 75%. And the way that we have done that is by ensuring that we have. It is really important to us in Washington, again, because this bilateral relationship is so important," she added. The US Consular Team in India processed a record 1.4 million US visas in 2023, which is higher than ever, and has brought down the visitor visa appointment wait times by 75 per cent. The US Embassy and Consulates in India said that Indians now represent one out of every 10 US visa applicants around the world.