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<ul><li>US President <keyword id="99719" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="joe-biden" source="Orion">Joe Biden</keyword> and First Lady Dr <keyword id="191986" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="jill-biden" source="Orion">Jill Biden</keyword> on Monday hosted a Diwali reception at the <keyword id="6356037" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="white-house" source="Orion">White House</keyword>.</li><li>More than 200 eminent Indian Americans attended the reception.</li><li>The reception saw some enthralling cultural events, including performances by sitarist Rishab Sharma and the dance troupe The Sa Dance Company.</li></ul>US President Joe <keyword id="60973" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="biden" source="Orion">Biden</keyword> and First Lady Dr Jill Biden on Monday hosted a Diwali reception at the White House in what they called the largest since the People's House started celebrating the festival during the George Bush administration. More than 200 eminent Indian Americans attended the reception at the East Room, a venue which has witnessed some of the landmark events related to the India-US relationship, including the signing of the nuclear deal and the joint press conference by then US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2008. The reception saw some enthralling cultural events, including performances by sitarist Rishab Sharma and dance troupe The Sa Dance Company. The guests, dressed in traditional Indian attires such as saree, lehenga and sherwani, relished some mouthwatering Indian delicacies. The room is full at the East state dining room This is a real celebration of what the Indian American community has achieved in the United States. It's a wonderful recognition by the President and by the White House to host all of us on Diwali. I feel very privileged to be here as an Indian American, Atul Keshap, president of US India Business Council told PTI during the reception. It's an honour and a privilege to be here to celebrate Diwali. Indian Americans thank the President and the First Lady for this, said H R Shah, chairman and CEO of TV Asia, the largest South Asian television channel in the US. It was heartening to see the leaders of our vibrant Indian American community come together at the White House during Diwali to be a force for good. It was also nice to hear the president on Diwali day welcoming <keyword id="221875" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rishi-sunak" source="Orion">Rishi Sunak</keyword> as the new prime minister of the UK, said M R Rangaswami, entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of Indiaspora. Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, said the event was held to recognise the South Asian community's contributions in economic development and managing Covid crisis among others. Biden has appointed a record number of over 130 Indo-Americans at various levels of the administrations, he said. Lauding the Diwali celebration, Bhutoria said it sent a message how much President Biden and this administration loves and respects the South Asian community . Earlier, welcoming the guests, Biden said it was the first Diwali reception to be held at the White House on such a scale. The incredible South Asian community all across America has helped the country emerge stronger from this pandemic, building an economy that works for everyone, teaching children and caring for elders, responding to the cry for action on climate, working to fix immigration system, defending rights and freedoms, building a more just and equitable country, serving and protecting our communities and the nation, informing, entertaining and inspiring, he said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indias-defense-exports-touched-a-record-13000-crore-in-2021-22/articleshow/92850833.cms">India's defense exports surge to ₹13,000 crore — private companies beat govt</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/made-in-india-lightweight-combat-helicopter/articleshow/94613836.cms">Here’s everything you need to know about the made-in-India lightweight combat helicopter</a>

Joe Biden hosts biggest-ever Diwali celebration at the White House

The US State Department has quietly implemented recommendations of a presidential commission which has suggested steps like opening up American diplomatic missions outside India for visa appointments to reduce the visa backlog in the country. India was one of the very few countries where applications for US visas saw a major upswing after coronavirus-related travel restrictions were lifted. Moved by a commission member, Ajay Jain Bhutoria from Silicon Valley, the presidential commission observed that inordinate visa appointment delays were causing huge problems for the students and visitors who have plans to come to study in the US and visit the country. The State Department should allow virtual interviews where applicable and allow staff from embassies around the world and the US consular staff to help conduct the virtual interviews at embassies with high backlogs and help clear them, the commission recommended. The recommendations included opening up American diplomatic missions outside India for visa appointments, having more counters and deploying additional resources to process visa applications. The <keyword id="50596" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-embassy" source="Orion">US Embassy</keyword> in India processed over 1 lakh applications just in January 2023, their highest total in a single month and the highest in any month since July 2019. In its December meeting, the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders recommended several steps to reduce the growing delay in visa appointment times in India and other countries like Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. It recommended the State Department hire new Full-Time officers/consular or Temporary Staff or contractors or bring back retired consular officers to clear the backlog at Embassies in Asia which have wait times of 400 or more days and shrink the wait time to 2-4 weeks be clearing the visa application backlog. The State Department could also use staff from other embassies around the world to help clear the backlog in countries in Asia which have huge backlogs and delays in visa appointments, it had recommended. The advisory committee noted that in 2012 President Barack Obama issued a memo to reduce the wait time from several months to a few days and this memo streamlined the visa process. The Trump administration had rescinded the President Obama memo, and this is also contributing as one of the factors in causing delays for Visa appointments, it said. As such, it recommended that President Joe Biden should consider issuing a memo to the State Department to shrink the visa appointment wait times to 2-4 weeks maximum for countries with significant backlogs including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other countries in a similar situation. There have been growing concerns in India over the long waiting period for first-time visa applicants, especially for those applying under B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) categories. The waiting period for first-time B1/B2 visa applicants in India was close to three years in October last year. In January, the State Department not only implemented remote processing of interview waiver cases for applicants with previous US visas but also launched several initiatives, including scheduling special interviews for first-time applicants and increasing the strength of consular staff. It also conducted "special Saturday interview days" on January 21. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-unleashes-ai-powered-updates-to-revamp-user-experience-on-maps-search-and-translate/articleshow/97761551.cms">Google unleashes AI-powered updates to revamp user experience on Maps, Search and Translate</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/now-find-ev-charging-stations-in-google-maps-near-you/articleshow/97759525.cms">Now find EV charging stations in Google Maps near you</a>

US State Department implements several recommendations of presidential commission to reduce visa backlog in India

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Joe Biden hosts biggest-ever Diwali celebration at the White House

PTI

US State Department implements several recommendations of presidential commission to reduce visa backlog in India

PTI

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