In a deliberate move, the US government issued 1 lakh 25,000 visas to students, a record number compared to the past five years. Moreover, such a large number of visas have been issued for the first time after 2016, according to a US Foreign Affairs representative.
Right now, Indian students make up for 20% of international students in the US. Telangana and Andhra students have been issued 18,600 visas in 2022 alone by the Hyderabad US Consulate.
The US has further stated that it was working on issuing more number of visas and decreasing the wait time for visas. In fact, apart from India, many students from various countries have been anxiously waiting for visas. The representative further revealed that the US Foreign Affairs department was taking all measures to ensure that the visas were issued at the earliest.
As of now, COVID restrictions have been eased in almost all countries, and hence the demand for visas has been high. To tackle the issue, the Foreign Affairs department is looking into staffing issues and other matters that have caused delays in the past.
