Students from India interested in applying for a U.S. F-1 Visa may not be required to arrange an interview in India if they have prior U.S. visas. This announcement was made on the sixth annual Student Visa Day in India. At the time of this announcement, roughly 3,000 Indian students were being interviewed at U.S. consulates across India.
The COVID-19 pandemic has added additional complications to the visa application process and made wait times for processing and approval significantly longer. During the Fall-Winter season, the U.S. Embassy in India temporarily shut down all in-person appointments due to an increase in applications. Despite this, however, India approved more student visas in the year 2021 than ever before. Eliminating the need for in-person interviews should help further shorten the visa approval process.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, approval rates for Indian nationals applying for visas have more than doubled between 2020 and 2021. Additionally, the U.S. Embassy hopes to open more interview slots for Indian students. First-time applicants are rarely rejected, and those that are rejected before making it past initial interview rounds can reapply at a later time.
Indian students are currently the second-largest international student population in the United States, and their numbers are expected to further increase this summer due to more visa availability for interested students. The U.S. Embassy hopes to exceed the 2021 record of 62,000 visas issued to Indian nationals studying at American universities.
If you have questions about an educational visa or any other immigration-related issue, contact us. We are with you every step of the way.