Refuting claims made in an earlier report about the US Embassy making software changes so that Indian students, who have been refused a visa once in the spring of 2022, will not be able to seek another visa appointment this year, A US Consulate Spokesperson told the Free Press Journal that though the Embassy is prioritising first-time applicants, students who are applying for the second time in the same year are not unqualified.
“We intend to do all we can to ensure first-time applicants receive a visa interview appointment but applicants who have been previously refused are not necessarily ineligible for a visa and will be able to apply again later in the year. We want to provide as many students as possible at least one opportunity to conduct the interview before allowing some students multiple opportunities to interview,” said the Spokesperson.
Certain issues with regards to software glitches, applicants not showing up for the interview, etc, pose problems for the Embassy which the latter is looking to fix soon. “We've noticed a pattern of agents booking multiple appointment slots, even if they can't coordinate to ensure the scheduled students are informed and appear for their appointments. The result is that on a given day, we may see 100 filled appointment slots on our calendar, but only 80 students show up. That's a problem for other students who have a harder time finding an open appointment. And it's a problem for the Embassy and Consulates as valuable staff time is wasted waiting for applicants who don't appear,” said the Spokesperson who added that since they want to create a level playing field for all applicants, they are working hard to address the software vulnerabilities.
In order to avail of the visa interview waiver scheme, which waives in-person interview requirements for many visa applicants, including students, at US diplomatic missions in India, those who have previously held any type of U.S. visa can follow the process at the US Embassy or Consulate website to apply for a dropbox appointment.
“Students are subject to the same vaccination and testing requirements to enter the United States as all other non-citizen travellers. These requirements may be subject to change. See our website for the latest information on COVID-19 related travel restrictions. Given the time required to receive both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, we urge students to schedule their vaccination now if they want to be ready for an August or September 2022 program start date,” stated the Consulate Spokesperson on students adhering to Covid protocols before entering the US in 2022.
