The US Embassy in New Delhi and consulates in other parts of the country are set to begin the process for student visas on a limited basis from tomorrow. This comes as good news for those who had applied to study in the US this year. Last week, it was announced that from August 17, the US Embassy and consulates in various cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad will be processing student and academic exchange visitor visa applications. However, this will be done on a limited basis.
Starting tomorrow, the visa processing will be initiated for emergency students and exchange visitor appointment requests that were received before August 12. When these applications will be processed, then the embassy will offer public appointments, as per the statement released by the US Embassy last week. It is to note that prospective students and exchange visitors can then schedule an appointment three weeks prior to the date their classes will start. It is expected that the appointment slots will be filled soon. The embassy clarified that only visas that will come under the high priority are likely to be processed.
While it is expected that visa processing will be done in a timely manner, the US Embassy may not be able to accommodate all requests by the time fall semester starts. The embassy also has to ensure the safety of workers as well.
“We will try to handle requests based on when we receive them and when classes will start,” PTI quoted the US Embassy as saying. Meanwhile, the Embassy has requested visa applicants to be patient during the time. Usually, the work for immigrant and non-immigrant visas had been halted in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. The future process is expected to remain closed and there is no certainty as to when the normal operations will resume.
