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).
In the book, historian Ayesha Jalal had contended that the idea and practice of jihad had a long tradition in the Indian subcontinent with Balakot as its epicentre.
Nikki Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina, added that the Trump Administration has "already wisely restricted assistance to Pakistan, but there is much more to be done."
Hiting out at BJP Chief Amit Shah for his comment, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the SAD-BJP government did not even know the meaning of "common man".
The memorandum talks about a Pakistani national Hafez K. Rahman, a Guantanamo Detainee, who was 20 years old and born in Gujrar, Pakistan, who turned out to be a jehadi.
