In this fiscal year, the US Department of State revealed that over 393,000 F-1 visas have already been issued to students globally. Similarly, 411,131 F-1 visas were issued in the fiscal year 2022, reflecting achieving the pre-pandemic levels. Even the trends reveal that there will be a higher number of visa approvals this year.
As per the US Department, there is a nearly 13 percent increase in the approval rate of these types of visas compared to 2019. Moreover, compared to 2021, there is a rise in the number of visas issued by 15 percent.
According to the reports, Asia holds the top spot in sending international students to the United States. The data reveals that two-thirds of the F-1 visas that have been issued are for students coming from Asia. The second place in the chart is given to Europe, where 60,000 US visas were approved last year. Moreover, most of the visas in Europe were issued to students coming from Germany and France, whereas in Latin America, Brazil and Colombia are among the top countries sending students to the United States.
Not only this, 3,331 visas were granted to Ghanaian students, leading to an ultimate increase in the number of visas issued to African students. As per IIE’s annual Open Doors Report, 83,240 students coming from European countries were enrolled at US universities and colleges in the academic year 2021–22. However, the refusal rate is also high this year, since 35% of all F-1 visas were rejected by the State Department. Out of the total 631,807 applications submitted, 20,676 applications were rejected.