 "Surprising statistics about Indian students’ visas for America have come out, know what will happen in the future…")
US Student Visa: Between January and September this year, the number of visas granted to Indian students in the US has drastically decreased. The number of F-1 student visas issued to Indian students fell by 38 percent in the first nine months of 2024, according to data from the US State Department.
If compared to last year, this is the biggest drop after Corona. While post-Covid, American universities saw an increase in the number of international students. There is also shortage of student visas from other countries, but it is very less compared to Indian students. After the arrival of Donald Trump, there can be more strictness in the visa rules of the United States or not, currently the discussion about it is intensifying.
According to a report by Indian Express, the number of F-1 visas issued to Indian students has reached its lowest level since the pandemic. Only 64008 visas were issued between January and September 2024, which is definitely lower than the 103495 visas for the same period in 2023. During the same period, 65235 visas were issued in 2021 and 93181 visas in 2022. Only 6,646 F-1 visas were issued in the first nine months of 2020 during Corona.
If compared to other countries, there has been a decrease in visas for Chinese students, but this decrease is less compared to Indian students. 8 percent fewer visas were issued to Chinese students in 2024. Between January and September this year, 73,781 F-1 visas were issued to Chinese students, compared to 80,603 last year.
What is the F-1 visa and what is the status in other countries…
The F-1 visa is for students studying at US academic institutions. In the last financial year 2022-2023, India overtook China in issuing new student visas. According to the On Doors 2024 report, the number of Indian students in US universities crossed 3 lakh or 331,000 in 2023-24, which is 29.4 percent of the total international students.
In this regard, when the spokesperson of the US State Department was contacted, he said that the interview of the Indian student who attempted the visa interview this year has already been done. Experts say delays in visa processing and long waits for interviews could also be the main reasons for this.