Between October 2022 and September 2023, the US Embassy and its consulates in India issued an all-time high of over 140,000 student visas.
“Our embassy and consulates in India issued an all-time record of more than 140,000 student visas”, the United States State Department said on Tuesday.
The State Department of the United States went on to say that from October 2022 through September 2023 (the 2023 federal fiscal year), the Department of State issued a near-record level of nonimmigrant visas of more than 10 million globally.
More nonimmigrant visas were granted by half of the US embassies and consulates than ever before.
The US embassy also issued nearly eight million visitor visas for business and tourism, higher than in any fiscal year since 2015, as per the statement.
Furthermore, the US embassy and consulates issued over 600,000 student visas, the most in a single year since Fiscal Year 2017.
According to the statement, these accomplishments were made possible by innovative solutions such as expanding interview waiver authorities, which allow frequent travelers who fulfill high national security standards to renew their visas without visiting an embassy or consulate.
“Looking to the future, we are exploring new technologies to assess opportunities to streamline operations, such as the option of domestic renewal in select visa categories”, it went on to say.
The US Mission in India met and exceeded its objective of processing one million non-immigrant visa applications by 2023 last month.
As per the US Embassy and Consulates in India, over 1.2 million Indians visited the US last year, making it one of the most robust travel ties in the world.
Indians now account for more than 10% of all visa applicants worldwide, including 20% of all student visa applicants and 65% of all H&L-category (employment) visa applicants. The United States welcomes this expansion, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti visited the US post in the national capital earlier this month to monitor the unprecedented demand for US guest visas among Indians.
According to the US Embassy, Garcetti was the special guest assisting the extra visa applications on ‘Super Saturday’.
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