India tops in issue of US student visas this academic year

HYDERABAD: The United States on Thursday said it has issued a ‘record-breaking’ 82,000 student visas to Indians this year, which was the highest amongst all other countries.

 In a statement, the US Embassy in New Delhi said, “The U.S. Mission in India has issued a record-breaking 82,000 student visas in 2022 till date. Indian students received more than any other country. The embassy in New Delhi and four consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai prioritised processing of applications from May to August to ensure that as many qualified students as possible could make it to their chosen programs in time.”

Charge d’Affaires Patricia Lacina said “we hail the U.S. mission in India’s achievement and are happy to see many students were able to receive visas and reach their universities after the delays caused in the previous years by Covid-19.”

Minister counsellor for consular affairs, Don Heflin said, “We are thrilled to have done our part to help Indian students pursue a top-notch education. Indians comprise nearly 20 per cent of all international students. The 2921 ‘Open Doors’ report shows that there were 167,582 Indian students in the 2020-21 academic year.”

Students seeking assistance about studying in the United States should download the EducationUSA India app on iOS and Android devices. It provides updated information about the application process of colleges.