To ease the visa application process for Indian students, the US embassy is set to skip the interview round for individuals who previously had visas from the country. Under the new guidelines, students who previously had a US visa can apply using the drop box service to bypass the in-person interview, a daily reported.
Speaking to the media on the occasion of Student Visa Day on June 7, Consular Affairs Minister Don Heflin in India said that the embassy has seen a positive response in the number of visa applications this year.
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Indian students are the second largest group in the international student community in the US. “Student mobility and people-to-people ties have been a cornerstone of the US-India relationship for the past 75 years and remain so today. The best evidence of the importance of academic exchange is how the US mission is managed. India Visa continues to give priority to students for interviews,” Patricia Lasina, charge d’affaires at the US Embassy, told the Daily News.
In addition, with its ‘Education USA’, which is a one-stop-shop for information, around 4000+ accredited US universities and colleges, the embassy is also making research easy for Indian students looking to move to the USA. making plans.
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 as compared to the pre-covid years, but there has been a rapid increase in applications in 2022.
The embassy is expected to break last year’s record of 62,000 visa applications as it prepares to interview its highest number of candidates from India in 2022. On June 7 alone, the embassy interviewed more than 3,000 students across India, including Delhi, Mumbai, and 1300 students each. Three other consulates – Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Most of the visa slots are reserved for students in June and July. The US plans to open 20-25 percent more slots for aspiring Indian students.
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