US issued record 140K visas to Indian students last year: Official
The Hindu
As part of the Biden administration’s endeavour to promote people-to-people ties with India, the US issued more than 1,40,000 visas to Indian students last year and is taking several steps to reduce visa appointment wait period.
As part of the Biden administration's endeavour to promote people-to-people ties with India, the US issued more than 1,40,000 visas to Indian students last year and is taking several steps to reduce visa appointment wait period.
In an interview to PTI, Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services, said US missions in India worked six, seven days a week to make sure that students could be interviewed before their classes started.
This year, the US made a huge effort to concentrate on the demand coming out of India, she said.
"We are really proud of what we have done in India this year. I think for the first time in history, we set a goal to issue one million visas in India and not only did we accomplish that, but it was done several months in advance. So, the number will go way beyond that.
"There are record-setting numbers this year for workers, crew members and students applying in India to come to the United States," she added.
Stufft further said, "We specifically made sure that we saw the students who were applying coming out of India. India is now the largest source country for foreign students in the United States, as well as many other visa categories. That's a very important one for us. We have also had a lot of cases where the interview was waived, so no interview for Indian travellers who have previously travelled and are now going back to the US."
Last year, the US issued a record over 1,40,000 visas to Indian students, she said.
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