In a bid to simplify the visa application process for Indian students, the US embassy is set to waive the interview round for individuals who had previously held the country’s visa. Under the new guidelines, students who have previously held any US visa can apply using the drop box service to bypass the in-person interview, reported a leading news daily.
Talking to the media on the occasion of Student Visa Day on June 7, Don Heflin, the Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs in India, said that the embassy has witnessed a positive response in the number of visa applications this year.
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Indian Students are the second largest group among the international student community n the US. “Student mobility and the people-to-people connections it forges has been a cornerstone of the US-India relationship for the past 75 years and remains so today. The best evidence of the importance of academic exchange is how the US mission to India continues to prioritise students for visa interviews,” Patricia Lacina, Charge D’Affaires at the US Embassy told the news daily.
Further with its ‘Education USA’, which is a one-stop-shop for information, about over 4000 accredited US Universities and colleges, the embassy is also making research easier for Indian students who plan to move to the USA.
The interest in US student visas has refused to die down despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The embassy, last year, received the right amount of applicants compared to pre-Covid years but the applications have sharply risen in 2022.
The embassy expects to break last year’s record of 62,000 visa applications as it gears up to interview its highest number of candidates from India in 2022. On June 7 alone, the embassy interviewed over 3,000 students across India including 1300 each at Delhi, Mumbai and its three other consulates – Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. Most visa slots in June and July are reserved for students. The US plans to open 20-25 per cent more slots for aspiring Indian students.
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