US okays record number of Indian student visas this year

New Delhi: The United States mission in India has approved more student visas in 2021 so far than ever before, said the country's embassy in a statement on Monday. This comes despite the many challenges that people are facing in travelling abroad.

As per the US embassy, more than 55,000 students and exchange visitors have or will board planes to study in the United States this year. "More students are being approved every day," it said.

"The US Mission looks forward to another great student season as it facilitates study for spring semester students over the coming few months," the embassy added.

Speaking about the process to facilitate the students' journey, ambassador Atul Keshap said that the Covid-19 pandemic posed several logistical challenges for the team.

"Studying in the United States is a unique and often life-changing experience for Indian students, granting fresh, global perspectives and frequently leading to invaluable career opportunities," he said.

"Indian students also enrich US society, achieve high levels of academic success, and deepen the bonds of friendship between our countries," added Keshap.

The embassy further said that while they typically begin interviewing fall semester students for a given year in May, the second wave of Covid-19 forced the mission to delay the commencement "In July, as soon as conditions allowed for the resumption of visa services without endangering applicants' health and safety, consular teams worked not only to match, but surpass, their pre-Covid workload," it said.