Procedures instituted after the 11 September 2001 attacks require the US Department of Homeland Security, CIA, FBI, and other agencies to vet most scientists from countries whose citizens must obtain visas to enter the United States. In 2003, visa delays prompted scientific societies to warn of an erosion of U.S. competitiveness if top foreign talent were to eschew travel to the United States. By last year, U.S. security agencies had managed to whittle average visa-processing time for scientists from 7 weeks to 3 weeks.
It has since climbed back up to 8 weeks. "We are quite concerned about the possibility of seeing all the ground we made lost," says Amy Scott, assistant vice president for federal relations at the Association of American Universities in Washington, D.C.
Not 8 weeks any more. Now the norm is 3 to 4 months and counting day by day....
It took me 97 days to get clearance. I applied for the visa on Dec. 12, 2008 and the clearance came on March 19, 2009. I know of people who have waited for 4 months. These delays are for H1-B visa renewals for those who already work in the US!