NEW DELHI: The US Embassy in India has issued a record 90,000 student visas this Summer (July-August). With this, almost one in four student visas issued worldwide, was issued in India.
“The US Mission in India is pleased to announce that we issued a record number – over 90,000 – of student visas this Summer/ in June, July, and August. This summer almost one in four student visas worldwide was issued right here in India!” the US Embassy in India wrote on ‘X’ formerly Twitter on Monday.
The US Embassy then congratulated students who have chosen the United States to make their higher education goals a reality.
Recently, United States Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said that the wait time for first-time tourist visa interviews has been reduced by more than 50 per cent, adding that the goal for 2023 is to process at least one million visas.
After the post-pandemic delays in visas, the Biden administration reportedly took several steps to hasten the process. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent US visit, he announced that Indian professionals will no longer need to leave America for the renewal of their H-1B visas.
During a State Visit earlier this year, PM Modi and President Joe Biden affirmed that the movement of professional and skilled workers, students, and other travelers between the US and India helps enhance bilateral economic and technological partnership. While acknowledging the key steps taken to augment the processing of visa applications, both leaders noted the pressing need to expedite this process.
In June, US envoy to India Eric Garcetti said that the mission is currently processing visas faster than ever before. He said that the wait time for first-time tourist visa interviews has been reduced by more than 50 percent but the goal for 2023 is to process at least one million visas.
“We’re already doing this. We’re currently processing more visas, faster, than the US Mission in India ever has before. We have set a goal for ourselves to process at least a million visas in 2023, and we’re already more than halfway towards reaching that goal,” the US ambassador was quoted as saying by ANI.