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US okays RECORD 55,000 student visas

August 25, 2021 15:06 IST

The US mission to India has invited students to visit https://educationusaindia.usief.org.in/ and also participate in the EducationUSA University Virtual Fairs, to be held on Friday, August 27, for prospective graduate students and Friday, September 3, for prospective undergraduate students.
Vinay Umarji reports.

IMAGE: On August 23, the US embassy in India posted a congratulatory message on Twitter welcoming 55,000 Indian students. Photograph: Kind courtesy US Embassy India/Twitter
 

The United States mission in India announced that its embassy and consulates approved more student visa applicants in 2021 than ever before, despite the global pandemic.

Through these efforts, more than 55,000 students and exchange visitors are boarding planes to study in the US, and more students are being approved every day, even as the US mission looks forward to another great student season as it facilitates study for spring semester students over the coming few months.

Embassies and consulates typically begin interviewing fall semester students for a given year in May. But this year, the pandemic created logistical challenges for the US mission's consular teams.

The second wave of COVID-19 forced the US mission to delay the commencement of its student visa season by two months.

In July, as soon as conditions allowed for the resumption of visa services without endangering applicants' health and safety, consular teams worked not only to match, but surpass, their pre-Covid workload.

Moreover, the US embassy and consulates opened additional hours for visa appointments and made every possible effort to ensure timely arrival for academic programmes for as many students as possible.

Ultimately, these efforts paid off, as more students than ever before received visas to study in the United States.

Given the continued interest among Indian students looking to study in the US, the US mission to India has invited students to visit https://educationusaindia.usief.org.in/ and also participate in the EducationUSA University Virtual Fairs, to be held on Friday, August 27, for prospective graduate students and Friday, September 3, for prospective undergraduate students.

Vinay Umarji
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