Interview with US Ambassador to India, Dr. Timothy J. Roemer

Appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama, Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer is the 21st and current U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India. He leads one of America’s largest diplomatic missions and has principal responsibility for broadening and deepening the multi-faceted U.S.-India partnership. From New Delhi to Hyderabad, from Kolkata to Lucknow, Ambassador Roemer has enthusiastically reached out to the people of India, leading by example in strengthening the people-to-people ties that form the foundation of the expanding U.S.-India relationship.


Ambassador Roemer holds a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.A. and PhD. in American Government from the University of Notre Dame. His interests include basketball, coaching his children in sports, reading history and biographies, and collecting first edition books.

In reply to a question, Ambassador Roemer said, “Educational ties between India and the U.S. are already very strong – as I mentioned, India has over 100,000 students studying in the U.S., more than any other country. There are several current programs that keep these ties so close. These range from the recently announced Obama-Singh Higher Education Initiative to the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Scholarship Program. Both of these programs connect our colleges and improve faculty interaction. The Embassy has also sent hundreds of Indian high school students to study for a year in the U.S., and we’re bringing more and more American students to India to study Hindi.”

Speaking about the fraud prevention in the visa process, Ambassador Roemer said, “Specific to India, though, we’ve greatly improved and continue to improve consular efficiencies, significantly reducing the visa appointment backlog. We’ve ramped up consulate staffing and have invested over $100 million in India alone to update and expand our consular facilities. Last year, we opened a new Consulate General in Hyderabad and are in the process of constructing a new consulate facility for Mumbai. We’ve also enhanced fraud prevention capabilities across India to protect applicants from unscrupulous touts and vendors.”

The full text of the interview is published here. We believe anyone headed to USA should read the interviews on our interview series page.