Locked out: Indian travellers battle bureaucracy, bots

 Hyderabad: In his small apartment in Hyderabad's Gachibowli neighbourhood, 23-year-old Nagendra K (name changed) refreshes his browser for what seems like the hundredth time in a day. The clock reads 3:18 AM. "The embassy sometimes releases slots at odd hours," he explains. "I have not had a proper night's sleep in weeks," he added.

Nagendra represents thousands of Indian students caught in an unprecedented visa processing crisis that threatens their academic futures. With an I-20 form and admission letter from a prestigious New York university already in hand, all that stands between him and his Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is a visa interview slot that seems increasingly unattainable.

India's passport ranking significantly influences the visa experience for its citizens. Positioned around 85th on global mobility indexes like the Henley Passport Index, Indian passports offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to merely 60 countries, necessitating formal visa applications for most international destinations.

Indian travellers often face stringent documentation requirements. Applicants must provide comprehensive financial records, detailed itineraries, confirmed return tickets, accommodation bookings, employment verification, and sometimes months of bank statements and tax returns.

Higher rejection rates also create significant uncertainty for Indian travellers, frequently resulting in financial losses from non-refundable bookings and damaged travel plans. The cumulative economic burden encompasses direct application fees, documentation costs, embassy travel expenses, and substantial opportunity costs from time invested in complex application processes. This can cost upwards, sometimes, of Rs 40,000. 

Wait times for student visa interviews have reached alarming levels across India, with Hyderabad facing a 75-day wait period for a US visa appointment, Delhi and Kolkata seeing a 60-day wait, and Chennai, 45 days.

For students like Nagendra who need to begin classes in early June, these timelines spell disaster, and desperate situations have bred desperate measures.

"Yesterday, a friend connected me with a consultancy claiming they could guarantee both a slot and visa approval for Rs 45,000," Nagendra said, lowering his voice. "I'm tempted, but I know it could be fraud."

His caution is well-founded. Just days ago, the US Embassy in India announced the cancellation of 2,000 visa appointments identified as fraudulently obtained, primarily for student visas.

"The US Mission to India recently cancelled 2,000 appointments that were identified as being fraudulent... When we identify individuals fraudulently attempting to expedite their visa slots, we cancel their appointments, block their accounts, and may not allow them to apply for future visas," a US Embassy spokesperson told DH. 

The official confirmed that the embassy is now sharing information about fraudulent applicants with counterparts in the UK, Canada and Australia, potentially closing multiple doors for offenders.

This problem is not limited to student visas. The menace has spread to many visa categories, including tourist and business visas (B1, B2), non-immigrant visas like H1-B to America, and visas for European nations as well.

For R R K Raju, a realtor from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, what should have been a routine UK visit visa application last summer turned into an unexpected disappointment. The embassy rejected his family’s tourist visa application, citing gaps in their income tax returns.

“I never imagined visa officers would scrutinise our application and documentation with such precision,” Raju explained.

“A minor accounting error on our auditor’s part led to the rejection of our entire application. Our planned summer trip to London had to be cancelled at the last moment due to this visa issue. It was an incredibly disappointing summer for our family,” Raju said. 

Work arounds

In Hyderabad’s Ameerpet area, known as a hub for educational consultancies, multiple agencies openly yet discreetly offer “guaranteed visa slots” despite the illegality of their services.

The scams take multiple forms. In one prevalent scheme recently busted in Hyderabad, fraudsters charge between Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000 for guaranteed appointments.

After receiving payment and login credentials, they change passwords and security questions, effectively locking out rightful applicants. Some victims then receive demands for additional payments to restore access.

“These operators use sophisticated bot technology to monitor and snatch slots the instant they become available,” explained a senior police official in Telangana. “Individual applicants simply cannot compete with these automated systems,” the police officer added.

There are many cases where this illegal route worked, and many got their visas instantly without waiting for a long period.

For many Indian families, sending a child abroad for education represents their greatest financial investment. The average Indian family spends between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for a US Master’s degree.

“I have been preparing for this opportunity for years,” said 22-year-old Amar (name changed), another student facing visa delays for his Computer Science program in Boston. “My parents sold land in our village to fund my education. Now, I might lose my scholarship if I cannot join by the deadline,” added Amar, who hails from Gudivada in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.

Predatory travel agents may take advantage of desperation as wait times continue to extend and even issue fake visas. A student from Tamil Nadu approached the Deputy Consul General of the Consulate of the Republic of Korea in January after doubting the authenticity of an E-7 visa issued to him. His suspicions proved correct when Consulate officials confirmed that the visa was fake.

The student had been duped by two individuals, who charged him Rs 5 lakh through online transfer for processing his visa. According to the police, the student grew suspicious of the visa grant notice received via email and approached the Korean Consulate.

“The complaint was made on January 27, 2025, and a QR code in the document led to a forged visa website,” a senior police officer said. Korea has emerged as a favoured destination for students from Tamil Nadu, along with Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore.

“There are several fake websites that are identical to the original ones, confusing students applying for visas. The fraudsters replicate the original website beyond any doubt. The student not only believed the site was legitimate but also transferred the money the fraudsters demanded,” the officer explained.

The Central Crime Branch of the Chennai Police registered a case and tracked the fake website to Mohammed Parvez from Mumbai. The police also arrested Mahaveer Khathat, a native of Rajasthan’s Ajmer, who had been running fake visa websites for multiple countries based on information provided by Parvez. Laptops, mobile phones, and credit card numbers were also recovered.

What specific pain points in the current visa application system make applicants vulnerable to fraud? A travel consultant explained that misinformation regarding visa interviews among applicants has made them easy targets for predatory agents.

In 2024, as well, the police arrested two people for allegedly creating fake educational documents for US visa applications. The scam came to light after the US consulate questioned the authenticity of certificates that applicants had submitted. The accused paid Rs 5 lakh to Hyderabad-based Dream for Overseas Private Limited, whose promoters were subsequently arrested.

The alternative 

Critics argue that more immediate solutions are needed. “The public should always approach reputable travel agencies for visa processing and avoid cheap, ‘easy process’ agents. This will only lead to more complications. The government should take action to initiate a smoother visa process for various countries by easing the travel regulations put in place by the respective countries,” said Dheeraj Praharaju, vice president of the Tours and Travels Association of Andhra.

Dheeraj, who regularly arranges tours to several international destinations, including the USA, expressed surprise that some agencies and consultants offer visa interviews at the drop of a hat while legitimate agencies struggle to secure visas.

Reputable visa consultants in India distinguish themselves through transparent fee structures, verifiable success records, official accreditations, ethical marketing practices, and documented legal relationships with foreign institutions.

They provide realistic timelines and outcomes rather than guarantees, while maintaining proper business registrations and regulatory compliance. Dheeraj added that technology can be leveraged to make visa applications more transparent and accessible.

“All relevant document uploads should be done online during the application filing process. Scrutiny of such applications should be completed before interview dates are allocated. New online application filings should be temporarily halted until the backlog is cleared. Once resolved, slots for new applications can be reopened,” he suggested.

A centralised, government-regulated platform for visa services could be another initiative that could significantly reduce exploitation and misinformation. Such a system would establish standardised processes, transparent fee structures, and verified information directly from embassies.

When asked how the recent cancellation of 2,000 visa appointments by the US Embassy has affected legitimate applicants, said A K Vijay Mohan, a travel agent, cited the unavailability of visa slots and the urgency to travel as the main reasons people approach such sources.

“I would suggest the US Embassy address this issue from their end, which is a major concern for all anticipated travellers,” said another agent.

Regarding the US Embassy sharing blacklisted candidates’ information with allied countries, a Hyderabad-based expert from the travel industry called it “outrageous to share the data of blacklisted candidates just for approaching third-party agencies for visa slots. They cannot blame others while maintaining the problem themselves,” he added.

Solutions 

Experts in the travel industry point out that embassies and governments can implement several safeguards against bot-based automated visa slot booking systems while maintaining fairness and transparency in India.They point out that advanced CAPTCHA systems that use behavioural analytics and human verification challenges can effectively block most bots without unduly burdening legitimate applicants.

Requiring two-factor authentication through registered mobile numbers can also significantly reduce automated access, particularly important in the Indian context where mobile verification is widely established, added a techie turned founder of a travel-based startup. 

Dedicated quotas for different applicant categories — like students, tourists, and business ensure fair access across groups. Implementing waiting list systems with verified applications creates more orderly processing while blacklisting IP addresses showing suspicious booking patterns. 

Regular audits of booking patterns, alongside strict penalties for visa agencies engaging in slot manipulation, and a comprehensive approach that balances security with the accessibility needs of millions of Indian visa applicants annually, are some other remedies that the travel industry could use, said A Padhi Srinivas Kumar, a travel and tourism expert. 

The visa slowdown coincides with shifting diplomatic priorities following recent US leadership changes, resulting in more scrutiny and rejections. Several visa processing centres remain understaffed post-pandemic, while application volumes have surged, say experts in the travel industry.

Documentation

Most non-student applicants are over 50 and retired, making document preparation especially challenging. These agencies become an easy approach for them, the travel agent explained.

Back in his apartment, Nagendra has decided against using the questionable consultancy services.

“I have connected with my university’s international office instead,” he said, closing his laptop after another unsuccessful attempt. “They are helping me request an emergency appointment. My future is too important to risk shortcuts.”

As the sun rises over Hyderabad, thousands of other students continue their own visa hunt. Their collective experience highlights a growing tension between India’s educational aspirations and the diplomatic infrastructure struggling to accommodate them.

For now, addressing the visa bottleneck will require coordinated efforts from embassies, universities, and Indian authorities to ensure that students’ dreams are not held hostage by either excessive waiting periods or the fraudsters who exploit them.

(With inputs from E T B Sivapriyan in Chennai)