New Interview Slots Open for the US Student Visa Interview

The US embassy has come up with an important update regarding the new interview slots for student visa interviews. This update is especially important for those who are planning to take admission by mid-August. The US embassy has updated students with the I-20, and they have to apply for F, M, and J at the Embassy and Consulates for interview slots after Aug 14.

The information came from the official Twitter handle of the US embassy in India. In their tweet, the US embassy in India has announced that the student visa appointments are available on the official website of the US embassy.

The tweet said, "Student visa appointments are available on our website. If you have an I-20, don't wait! Future F, M, and J appointment openings at the Embassy and Consulates will be for interviews taking place after Aug 14, so if you need to arrive at school by mid-Aug, book an appointment now!". The US embassy opens the date for interview slots at regular intervals, and they have opened the first tranche of interview slots slated for June and mid-July in May 2022. Last year, COVID's second wave was devastating for India and the rest of the world. Everything got stalled for a couple of months, and the US visa interview was no different. The US visa interviews were opened late as compared to this year, and the first tranche of interview slots was opened on Jun 14. So, this time the US embassy decided to make up for the last year and start early. This time with more visa interviews, it was imperative to start earlier so that more students could be given the opportunity to interview for student visa applications.

This year too, several students were waiting for their visa interviews. Students were anxious to know the dates for an interview as they had already received the I-20 documents from their respective universities. Another crucial development in this regard is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) initiatives. The MEA held consultations with officials from countries like the US, the UK, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, and Poland about visas and other related matters.

The main aim of these consultations was to ease the visa appointments for Indian students as the above-mentioned countries are where Indian students usually go for an education abroad. The MEA, through its spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, told the press that these consultations would be mutually beneficial for the students and the host countries. The flow of students from India to these countries helps in bridging the gap between India and the respective country.

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Indian officials from MEA consulted comprehensively with officials at the respective embassies and consulates about broadening the prospects for Indian students wanting to go to these countries for their abroad education. The officials held wide-ranging discussions with senior diplomats and heads of mission from these countries about ways to streamline the student visas for Indian nationals. The Indian officials especially stressed ways to pace up the visa application processing rate and bring clarity to the visa application process. The US has already noted it, and they are all set to give student visas to the highest number of students. The US officials on the Student Visa Day clearly expressed their intentions to address India's concerns on expediting the visa application process and bringing more clarity to the visa application process.

Last year, the US broke the record by giving the highest number of student visas, which was a staggering 62,000. This summer, too, they expect to give even more student visas to students as they have opened up 1,00,000 appointments. This will certainly lead to more Indian students going to the US for higher education. To top it all the US embassy has also introduced the interview waiver option for those students who have had any other form of US visa. The Minister for External Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishankar, has also said that India will be rolling out e-passports that'd ease up traveling for Indians going abroad for studies or for that matter any other work. The new e-passport will protect Indian citizens against identity theft and data security.

Read Also:

• What is an I-20 Form?
• Types of US Visas and Its Importance
• Proof of Funds for the Visa Interview
• Documents For US Student Visa
• All About OFC Appointment for a US Student Visa