US to start student visa application process from mid-May
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 May, 2023 03:47 PM
New Delhi, May 2 (IANS) The US will begin processing student visa applications for the Fall Session with the first batch of appointments available from mid-May.
"Attention students! In mid-May, the US Mission to India will open the first batch of appointments for the upcoming student visa season," the US Consulate General in Hyderabad announced via a tweet.
"Additional appointments will be released later in the season. Prepare for your appointments and stay tuned for more student visa related announcements," it said.
The US consulates processed nearly 1.25 lakh visa applications of students in India last year.
The country intends to increase visa interview appointments for Indian students by 30 per cent this summer.
In a much needed breather for students, the State Department announced in February that the 'F' and 'M' categories of student visas can now be issued up to a year in advance.
Previously, international students could apply only 120 days before the start of their study program.
Now they can submit their application 365 days in advance.
The development comes with the State Department announcing a hike in the fees of student visas.
Beginning May 30, the fees for non-petition based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from $160 to $185 (Rs 15,140 for Indians).
The US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has said the precise location of India's moon lander Vikram on the lunar highlands is yet to be determined.
With mission Kashmir as his sole focus, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan targeted India at the UN General Assembly, with his speech a repetition of everything he has been saying the past few weeks.
In July, Donald Trump made racist comments apparently against four Congresswomen. In a tweet, he said they should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."
Alice Wells, US Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia criticised Khan for not highlighting the "horrific conditions" that continue to exist for the members of the Muslim community in China's in Xinjiang province.
Audrey Truschke, History professor at Rutgers University, said India “has experienced, often personally and painfully, the cataclysmic results of his hateful brand of extreme nationalism — Hindutva”.
