On the seventh annual Student Visa Day, Eric Garcetti, US Ambassador to India, mentioned that one out of every five visas for the US was issued to Indian students. Further, Garcetti highlighted the strength of the relationship between India and the US.
In his statement, he revealed that more Indian students come to the US than any other country. According to him, Indian students contributed and made India number 1.
Speaking on the occasion, Garcetti commented that “we are on track to process the highest number of visa applications for students in our history.”
The ambassador mentioned that more visa appointments will be made available this year for Indian students. Earlier in 2022, a total of 1,25,000 visas were granted to Indian students, a record-breaking figure. In 2022, Indian students were issued the highest numbers of H and L employment visas (65%) and F1 student visas (17.5%) globally.
India became the largest group of students visiting the US in 2022. Reportedly, around 2 lakh students were studying in the US in the academic year 2021–22. According to the embassy, the country has equated their pre-pandemic wait time with over 20 visa categories. Moreover, the officials are on their way to reduce the waiting time for tourist visa applications, which require an interview. Since the beginning of this year, there have been tremendous changes, as waiting times are down by 60 percent.