New Delhi, 7 Jun: As seen on June 7, one out of every five U.S. student visas was issued in India in 2022, which is more than the proportion of Indian population in the world, U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti said on June 7.
The U.S. Mission in India held its Seventh Annual Student Visa Day countrywide on Wednesday with Consular Officers from New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai interviewing almost 3,500 Indian Student Visa applicants.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Garcetti said, “More Indians come to the United States as students than from any other country in the world. One out of every five student visas was issued right here in India in 2022 which is, by the way, more than the proportion of Indian population in the world. Indians have not only pursued education in the US but for decades have shown excellence. We are on track to process the highest number of visa applications for students in our history.”
The Ambassador said that they will be making more visa appointments available for students in 2023 than ever.
“In the coming weeks, we will be releasing tens of thousands of Student Visa appointments for July and August,” he added.
According to figures shared by the embassy, the U.S. Mission in India issued more than 1,25,000 student visas, which is a record-breaking number. In 2022, Indians were issued the highest numbers of H&L employment visas (65% ) and F1 student visas (17.5% ) worldwide.
Last year, more than 1.2 million people from India visited the U.S., making Indians one of the largest groups of international visitors to the U.S.
Indian students comprise more than 21% of the total population of international students in the U.S. During the 2021-22 academic year, nearly 2 lakh Indian students were studying in the U.S. (PTI)
The embassy said that in the past one year, they have matched their pre-Pandemic wait time for more than 20 visa categories. Their attention is focussed on reducing the wait time for tourist visa applicants who require an interview.
The in-person tourist visa appointment wait time is down 60% since the beginning of 2023 .
Student Visa Day is organised every year in June. (PTI)