Good News For Indian Students, US Embassy Planning More Visa Interviews

According to a top official at the US Embassy in India handling visa issues, the US Embassy in India is planning to hold more visa interviews this year than it did even before the pandemic, which is great news for Indian students waiting to travel to the US. Don Heflin, Minister Counselor said, "Our goal is to interview as many people as we did in 2019 which was a normal year. We scraped up resources to do that and we are very sure of doing 2019 numbers and exceed it by a bit." 

"We got off to a late start this year; normally, we start interviewing in May or June. While we began on June 14, we will get off to a great start on July 1. Students have had to deal with a variety of technical issues. Thousands of students have been assigned to classes in July and August. We'll have more appointments available next week," he added. 

With the number of COVID-19 cases declining and a majority of the adult population in the United States having already been vaccinated, the US has relaxed its rules for foreign visitors. Colleges, on the other hand, continue to have their own requirements. 

"The US government does not have a policy regarding vaccine passports. Our CDC has required an RTPCR test within three days of travel, but no vaccination is required. Each school and university has its own set of requirements, so make sure you know what they want you to do. Some schools require students to begin by isolating themselves," Heflin explained. He went on to say that if an unvaccinated student shows up, many universities now take them straight to a vaccination centre to be vaccinated.

He also allayed students' fears that lack of international flights and travel restrictions would prevent them from arriving at their universities in time for classes to begin. Heflin stated students can talk to the university and ask for a letter allowing them to arrive a little late.