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The US Consulate in Hyderabad has extended the student visa season by two weeks, allowing students with later interview dates to arrive in the US in time for their programmes. As a result, student visa interviews will now continue until the end of August 2024. The US consulate-general in Hyderabad announced on 'X', "Student visa interviews will now go on till the end of August."
Why was the date extended?
The decision to extend the student visa season came a day after students from Hyderabad started an online petition, urging the consulate to open additional visa slots. Many students had been trying unsuccessfully to book a slot for over six months. According to media reports, not verified by Business Standard, the US consulate in Hyderabad is likely to add more slots.
In the online petition, students claimed that 10,000 F1 (student visa) slots that opened post-midnight Sunday were booked within five minutes, leaving them stranded in the portal's waiting room. Many stayed logged in, hoping the page would revive, but their hopes were dashed after multiple failed attempts.
The petition read: "The US Visa Portal is not allowing hundreds of Indian F1 visa applicants to book any appointments due to technical glitches on their end. We keep seeing the error: 'Appointment limit reached. You can no longer schedule appointments.'"
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"Most of us are first-time applicants, we all have valid fees and have not exceeded any appointment limits as acknowledged by customer support. We have missed several months' appointments due to this."
Nihal Kumar Das, a student who has been admitted to a US university, said in the online petition: "I'm stuck in this issue where the payment receipt gets locked with an error code RCE07. I am unable to claim the receipt to book my slot after paying 15,540."
Students now fear they will lose their admission, along with several years of effort, time, and money, because of the technical glitch. Many colleges start in July, and there is high demand for these appointments. Even a few hours' delay on their end could prevent us from securing appointments in time for our courses. This glitch jeopardises our admits and our investments of effort, time, and money.
What is F1 Visa?
The F1 Visa (Academic Student) allows you to enter the United States as a full-time student at an accredited college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution or in a language training programme.
High waiting period in Hyderabad
According to the US Consulate website, the waiting period for F1 visa slots in Hyderabad is 266 days, while Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai have waiting periods of 14, 51, 19, and 144 days respectively.
Why is this the case? "It is a simple case of demand and supply. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, more students prefer the US as a study-abroad destination than in any other part of the country," Ajay Sharma, founder of Abhinav Immigration Services told Business Standard.
The US is a popular destination for people from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. A study by the US-based Center for Immigration Studies has shown Telugu as the fastest growing language in the United States, having grown by 86% in the last eight years.
Moreover, over 210,000 students from India joined US universities in 2022, with 40% of them being from the twin states, primarily Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur, and Khammam.
Expanding on the popularity of Telugus in America, Ajay Sharma provided an interesting insight, "When a Telugu movie is made, the audience in the USA is kept in mind! The box office collection of these movies in the US determines whether or not the film is successful."
What options do students have now?
"Unfortunately, there are no options except waiting for the consulate to provide additional slots. That will continue to happen at short notice. So, prospective students should watch such news flow and visit the related website regularly," says Ajay.
To assist applicants, EducationUSA India is organising Student Visa Information Sessions 2024. These sessions will feature a Consular Officer from the US Embassy or Consulates, who will provide detailed guidance on the student visa application process.
