The number of United States student visas issued to Indians between March and May was at its lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic year 2022, showed data from the US State Department.

The number of F-1 visas issued to Indians between March and May decreased by about 27% as compared to the same period in 2024.

An F-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows students from other countries to study in the US.

The period between March and May is considered to be a busy period for student visa applications as the fall intake – which is the preferred entry point for most international students – begins in August and September at most US universities.

Between March and May this year, 9,906 Indians were granted F-1 academic visas. The number was 13,478 in 2024, just short of 15,000 in 2023 and 10,894 in 2022.

The decrease in Indians being issued F-1 visas came amid the Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on international students. Trump began his second term as the US president in January.

Washington has taken aggressive actions to try to enforce its demands on universities, including freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in university funding, revoking visas and attempting to deport international students. However, many of these measures have been blocked by the courts.

The Trump administration had on May 27 instructed embassies globally to halt student visa interviews until further notice. Since the interviews resumed in June, all student and exchange visitor visa applicants globally have been required to make their social media profiles public.

The change was aimed at enabling background checks during the visa screening process to establish applicants’ “identity and admissibility”, said the US embassy in New Delhi.

Since 2019, the US has required visa applicants to submit social media identifiers, the diplomatic mission said in a statement.

More than 1.1 million international students were enrolled in US universities during the academic year 2023-’24, accounting for 6% of those pursuing higher education in the country, according to US-based non-governmental organisation Institute of International Education.

India sent the highest number of students, followed by China, it added.

However, the trend of a decrease in F-1 visas issued to Indians had started in 2024, before Trump returned to the White House. The number of US student visas issued to Indians had fallen by 38% in the first nine months of 2024, as compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

It was unclear if more visa applications were being rejected or if there had been a drop in the applications.

A US embassy spokesperson told The Indian Express that “adjudication of visa applications is critically important to the national security and public safety of the US”.

“We encourage applicants to apply as early as they can and to anticipate additional processing time for these visa categories,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying. “Our overseas posts have resumed scheduling F non-immigrant visa applications. Applicants should check the relevant embassy or consulate website for appointment availability.”


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