US to open new student visa slots in India in two weeks

‘India mission focused on reducing visa wait times not just for students, but for first time visitors, others too’

US Embassy in India plans to open the next batch of student visas in the next couple of weeks and hopes to issue more visas this year than before, according to US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.

An effort is being made to reduce the wait time not just for students but also for first-time visitors with the embassy assigning staff to focus on the issue, he told reporters Monday during a visit to Ahmedabad, his first outside the capital.

Read: US mission in India issues record 82,000 student visas in 2022 (September 8, 2022)

“I think we will show that this year we will be able to go past the earlier numbers and get to an even higher number,” he said. “The President (Joe Biden) is very focused on this too. He has told me to reduce visa issuance time not just for students but also for first-time visitors and others.”

Garcetti said in the last three months, the wait time was brought down by 60% from where they were in December. “In the coming year, we will bring the wait time down further,” he said. “My goal as an ambassador is to think of five years and 20 years from now.”

“Indian students are so great for America. They are great for our universities, they are great for our commerce,” Garcetti said.

“Look at the number of Indian-born CEOs of great companies based in America. It is good for the American economy, it’s great for the Indian economy, and it’s just good for civilisation too,” he added.

Garcetti said when he first came to India at the age of 14, the trade between India and the US was just two billion dollars.

“Today, it is over 100 billion dollars and it (US) is the number one trading partner with India. Back then, there were no defense cells, zero dollars, and now we are an important part of a mutual strategy to keep our people safe and protect the Indo-Pacific region together,” he said.

Read :India overtakes China in sending most students to US (May 2, 2023)

Cultural exchanges and influence the people of the two countries have on one another through Hollywood, Bollywood and Tollywood show the rich and deep ties between the two countries, he said.

India and the US share a relationship based on a common desire to have stronger economies and a peaceful Indo-Pacific region’ he said.

They would continue to “deepen” their ties, including in defence. Garcetti also acknowledged that while stability in the region is important for India, it also stands for the values that strengthen the Indo-Pacific region, such as rule of law and freedom of movement and commerce.

Garcetti also visited Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad terming it to be an “honour” to be at the “sacred site” and “place important not only for Indian history but for the history of humanity.”

Read: US Consulate in Hyderabad may open student visa appointment slots next week (May 12, 2023)

After a nearly hour-long tour of the Sabarmati Ashram, where he visited Hriday Kunj, tried his hand at the charkha, and visited the museum, Garcetti wrote in the visitor book, “This place and one man (Mahatma Gandhi) changed the world forever. Yet Gandhi taught us that anyone in any place can join fellow human beings to do the same. Our world needs these lessons now as much as it did then.”

“My heart is moved today in this sacred space. May we all struggle together to live simply, act productively, and lead with love wherever we are. May the memory of Gandhiji be a blessing always.”