US Embassy opens 250,000 additional visa slots for Indian travelers.
The US Embassy in India has opened 250,000 extra visa appointment slots for Indian travelers including tourists, skilled professionals, and students.
This comes as America issued a record number of student visas to Indians this year, surpassing last year’s figure of over 1.4 lakh visas.
In a statement, the embassy said the new slots will help facilitate timely visa interviews for hundreds of thousands of applicants.
It added that the US mission in India achieved the 10 lakh mark in non-immigrant visa applications processed for the second consecutive year.
During the summer student visa season, all first-time applicants from India secured an appointment, as per the mission.
US Ambassador Eric Garcetti noted they fulfilled the goal set by PM Modi and President Joe Biden to expedite and improve the process.
He credited consular teams for diligently meeting the surging demand, with four Indian cities among the top spots globally for student visa issuance.
Indians make up over a quarter of foreign students in America, totaling more than one million, the largest contingent of international graduates.
