The United States Embassy has issued an impressive total of 90,000 visas to Indian students during this summer, spanning the months of July and August. According to an official statement, India accounted for nearly one out of every four student visas granted globally, underscoring the strong interest and demand among Indian students to pursue education in the United States.

“The US Mission in India is pleased to announce that we issued a record number of over 90,000 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.

The US Embassy extended congratulations to Indian students who have chosen the United States as their destination for pursuing their careers. This commendation underscores the strong interest and preference of Indian students for the United States as an educational and career destination.

Recently, the United States Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, made notable remarks regarding visa processing improvements. He highlighted a substantial reduction of over 50 percent in the wait time for first-time tourist visa interviews. Furthermore, Ambassador Garcetti articulated an ambitious goal for 2023, aiming to process at least one million visas.

During a speech at IIT Delhi, Ambassador Garcetti underscored the progress in visa processing, emphasizing that the USA Mission in India is currently achieving faster visa processing times than ever before. This development marks a significant step toward enhancing international travel and educational exchanges between the two countries.

“We’re already doing this. We are 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 are already more than halfway towards reaching that goal,” Garcetti said.

India and the United States have jointly implemented several initiatives to expedite visa processing. During a visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a significant announcement, indicating that Indian professionals would no longer be required to leave the United States for the renewal of their H-1B visas, as detailed in the statement.

Furthermore, US authorities have unveiled plans to introduce 'in-country' renewable H-1B visas as part of a people-to-people initiative aimed at streamlining the H-1B visa renewal process. Additionally, PM Modi's announcement included the opening of new US consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, while India is preparing to establish a new consulate in Seattle this year.

 Furthermore, the official announcement highlighted the impending opening of Indian Consulates.

“One out of every 5 US students’ visas was issued here in India in 2022. One out of five in the world which is more than the proportion of the Indian population in the world” Garcetti had said “So, Indians have not only pursued an education in the United States but for decades have shown their excellence in the United States and we are on track to process the highest number of visa applications in our history,” Garcetti added.

Image source: ToI