NEW DELHI, May 31 – India expressed hope on Thursday that the United States will process student visa applications on merit and in time for the upcoming academic year, amid reports that U.S. missions have paused new visa appointment scheduling while awaiting fresh screening guidelines.
The U.S. State Department is reportedly working on enhanced procedures to vet applicants’ social media profiles, leading to temporary delays in student and exchange visitor visa appointments worldwide.
While acknowledging that visa issuance is a sovereign function of the U.S. government, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) underscored the importance of ensuring that Indian students can travel for their studies as planned.
“We have seen reports suggesting the U.S. government updated guidance regarding Student and Exchange Visitor visa applicants,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly briefing. “While we note that issuance of visa is a sovereign function, we hope that the application of Indian students will be considered on merit and they will be able to join their academic programmes on time,” he added.
According to official figures, more than 330,000 Indian students were enrolled in U.S. institutions during the 2023–24 academic year, making up nearly 30% of the 1.1 million international students in the country — the largest share from any nation.
The visa uncertainty comes as Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri concluded a three-day visit to Washington. The MEA declined to confirm whether the visa delay or recent remarks by President Donald Trump’s administration about mediating the India-Pakistan ceasefire had featured in his discussions with U.S. officials.
Misri met U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau during the visit, where both sides reiterated their commitment to advancing technology, trade, and talent cooperation under the strategic partnership.
Jaiswal said discussions also covered defense and energy collaboration and ongoing efforts to deepen cooperation through multilateral frameworks including the Quad, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), and the I2U2 grouping of India, Israel, the UAE, and the United States.
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to travel to Washington in late June to participate in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting, ahead of a planned Quad summit hosted by India in November.
