On track to process record number of student visa applications in 2023: US envoy

New Delhi, June 8 (IANS) US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said on Thursday that consular teams in Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi are on track to process the highest number of Indian student visa applications in history this year.

"This summer, we're on track to process the highest number of Indian student visa applications in the history of this Mission," Garcetti said in a tweet praising his consular teams.

"A huge shoutout to my incredible consular teams in Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and New Delhi for their exceptional efforts in issuing the highest number of student visas globally in 2022!," he tweeted on Thursday.

Garcetti's remarks came a day after the US Mission in India held its seventh annual Student Visa Day with Consular Officers from the five states interviewing almost 3,500 Indian student visa applicants.

Stating that education ties have been a cornerstone of US-India partnership, Garcetti had said that one out of every five US student visas was issued in India in 2022 -- more than the proportion of the Indian population in the world.

"In the coming weeks, we will be releasing tens of thousands of student visa appointments for July and August," Garcetti said.

Last year, a record-breaking 125,000 Indians were issued student visas, which is more than were issued to any other nationality, according to a US Embassy statement.

In 2022, Indians were issued the highest numbers of H&L employment visas (65 per cent) and F1 student visas (17.5 per cent) worldwide. This year, more than 200,000 Indian students are studying at US academic institutions, representing more than 20 per cent of international students currently in the United States, the statement added.

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