.png)
Changes in Student Visa Application Process for Summer 2022
Here’s some welcome news for Indians who are planning to apply for a US student visa in the summer of 2022. The Embassy of the USA in India has changed the visa application system. Changes in the US student visa application process could see more visas for Indians.
The US embassy is currently issuing two-thirds of the number of visas issued in the pre-pandemic times. It is trying to get back to full capacity by 2023. Currently, It is facing major issues regarding the visa application process, these changes would be expected to address these problems.
Problems of issuing US student visas for Indians in 2021
Donald L Heflin, Minister-Counselor for Consular Affairs at the US Embassy in Delhi brought 2 major problems to light. They are:
- Due to the huge number of student visa applicants from India, our worldwide computer system crashed.
- A large number of student visa interview slots were brought up by people who were not genuine applicants.
He also said that while in the first part of the season they had good and genuine students applying for visas. In the latter part, of last summer, many applicants who they interviewed were coming to them a second or third time having been refused student visas earlier. That was taking slots away from good students.
Measures are taken to solve Visa Application Issues
To counter these issues, the US Embassy System changed the software and upgraded the Visa application system. The measures are expected to cater to the problem of non-student agents blocking the visa interview slots and the resulting shortage of interview appointments for “genuine students”. Here are the details of it
- The system will be able to remove the candidates who have been rejected before. They will also be stopped from reapplying the same year.
- Additionally, students have been advised to regularly check the US embassy website to schedule interview appointments upon receiving acceptance letters from US universities.
- Measures will be applied to block slots by non-student agents who don’t show up for the interview to give more places for genuine Students.
The US embassy is also planning to start issuing B1-B2 visitor visas by September this year. This will allow parents of Indian students to accompany their children as they start semesters in fall 2022. However, those who have never held a US visitor visa before will not be able to travel.
0 comments: