US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, revealed that Indians received one out of every five student visas issued by the United States. He emphasized the efforts made by US consulates in India to reduce visa wait times.
Garcetti acknowledged the strong India-US relationship and the significant number of Indian students studying in the United States, surpassing students from any other country. The US mission in India conducted its seventh annual student visa day, interviewing around 3,500 Indian student visa applicants across multiple cities.
In the 2021-2022 academic year, close to 200,000 Indian students were enrolled in US universities. Ambassador Garcetti commended the students as they prepared to join the increasing cohort of Indian students pursuing education in the United States.
Indians received the largest share of H&L employment visas (65%) and F1 student visas (17.5%) globally in 2022. Additionally, over 1.2 million Indians travelled to the United States that year, establishing them as one of the largest international visitor groups.
Between June and August 2023, the US Mission in India plans to conduct interviews with the largest number of students ever. In the previous year, Mission India set a record by issuing over 125,000 student visas.
The US Mission in India aims to handle more than one million visa applications in 2023 and has already processed a significant portion of the worldwide visa volume since the start of the year.