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).
Authorities have arrested a man who had worked at a store in the city's suburb of East Orange and charged him with the murder of Tarlok Singh, the Sikh who owned the shop, according to the local prosecutor's office.
An Indian students’ group in Britain on Tuesday called for action to support members who had been subjected to a fake calls scam, which involves fraudsters claiming to be from the UK Home Office and threatening innocent students with deportation.
A South African Indian-origin man has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting dead his cousin during a heated argument over a TV remote control, police said.
In what seems to be erupting into a major visa scam, Indians have been warned against an employment agency reportedly fleecing them with the promise of a work visa for Down Under.
