The US Embassy in India has announced changes in the student visa application process that will become effective from 27 November 2023. The changes will be applicable throughout all embassies across Indian cities. Students who are applying to study in US, and are going to apply under the F, M, and J student visa programme, should note the changes.
The US Embassy in India took to microblogging site ‘X’ to announce the changes.
The US Embassy said that from 27 November, all F, M, and J student visa applicants will have to use their own passport information when creating a profile and scheduling their visa appointment. This is done to prevent fraud and abuse of the appointment system.
“Applicants who have created a profile or booked an appointment using an incorrect passport number will not be accepted at the Visa Application Centers (VAC). Their appointments will be cancelled and the visa fee will be lost.” the US Embassy in India alerted.
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Those applying for type F or M visas are expected to attend a school or program that is certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Those applying for a type J visa must receive sponsorship from an organisation approved by the Department of State.
The US Embassy also said that those who have already created a profile or booked an appointment using an incorrect passport number should either create a new profile containing the correct passport information or access any existing profile which contains the correct passport information in order to book an appointment. However, this entails paying for a new visa fee receipt if the previous one was associated with the profile that had the wrong passport information.
If an old passport was lost or stolen, a photocopy or other evidence of the old passport number will be required for a US visa appointment at the VAC for admission, the US Embassy said.
Meanwhile, the US Ambassador recently confirmed that the US is adding more staff and opening new consulates to lessen the waiting time for visa issuance from India. The new consulates will come up in Ahmedabad, while one consulate was recently opened in Hyderabad.
The US Embassy earlier had announced that its India team processed more visa applications in 2023 than in any previous year.
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