Washington: The US Embassy and its consulates in India have issued an all-time record of over 140,000 student visas between October 2022 and September 2023.
"Our embassy and consulates in India issued an all-time record of more than 140,000 student visas," the US State Department announced on Tuesday.
The US State Department stated, "From October 2022 through September 2023 (the 2023 federal fiscal year), the Department of State issued a near-record level of nonimmigrant visas of more than 10 million globally."
Half of the US embassies and consulates adjudicated more nonimmigrant visas than ever before.
Additionally, the US embassy issued nearly eight million visitor visas for business and tourism, more than in any fiscal year since 2015, the statement said.
Moreover, the US embassy and consulates issued more than 600,000 student visas, the highest in any year since Fiscal Year 2017.
The statement further said that these achievements were possible because of innovative solutions, such as expanding interview waiver authorities that allow frequent travellers who meet strict national security standards to renew their visas without having to visit an embassy or consulate.
"Looking to the future, we are exploring new technologies to assess opportunities to streamline operations, such as the option of domestic renewal in select visa categories," it added.
Last month, the US Mission to India reached and surpassed the goal to process one million non-immigrant visa applications in 2023.
The US Embassy and Consulates in India said in a statement that last year over 1.2 million Indians visited the US, making it one of the most robust travel relationships in the world.
"Indians now represent over 10 per cent of all visa applicants worldwide, including 20 per cent of all student visa applicants and 65 per cent of all H&L-category (employment) visa applicants. The United States welcomes this growth," the statement said.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti visited the US mission in the national capital to oversee the "unprecedented demand" for US visitor visas among the Indians.
The US Embassy said that Garcetti was the special guest helping the extra visa applicants on 'Super Saturday'.
