The Consulate of the United States in Hyderabad, India, has decided to extend the student visa season by two weeks following calls from students to do so.
Confirming the new changes on the “X” platform, the Consulate said that the decision came in order to make sure students have enough time to get their visas processed, VisaGuide.World reports.
We’ve extended the Student Visa Season by two weeks to ensure that the students who interview later in the season will arrive in time for their scheduled program to start. Student visa interviews will now go on till the end of August.
In addition to visa season extension, plans to increase the number of slots were also mentioned, however, specific figures were not disclosed.
The new decision comes after students from Hyderabad initiated an online petition urging the Consulate to open additional visa slots. A large number of students reported unsuccessful attempts to book slots for more than six months.
According to these students, 10,000 F-1 visa slots released after midnight on Sunday were filled within five minutes, thus leaving many students stuck.
The F-1 visa permits international students to attend educational institutions in the US. It consists of levels from elementary school to university and graduate school, taking also into account other degrees.
These students have expressed their concerns about their university admission with the approaching fall session.
The petition was initiated by Darsh Golecha, according to a report from Economic Times.
I have been trying since November 2023, but have not managed to book a slot even once. Whenever I try, it shows different things, like limits reached, portal error, site crashed, etc. My course starts in August and still, I have not received any clarity from the consulate.
Increase in Number of Student Visas Issued by US
The number of student visas issued in the US continues to increase. The US Department of State issued more than 446,200 student visas in fiscal year 2023, accounting for the highest number of student visas issued in a single year since 2016.
Statistics from the US State Department reveal that there was a total of 8.5 per cent increase in the number of student visas issued in fiscal year 2023 compared to 411,000 visas issued in 2022.
The same source reveals that more than 130,000 student visas were issued to Indian students. The 2023 fiscal year marked the second year in a row that Indian students received more US student visas than students from any other country.
Kyrgyzstan was placed in the first position when it comes to the list of fastest-growing markets for US student visas in Central Asia. India is also among the top ten countries with the fastest-growing foreign student markets in the US for fiscal year 2023.