There has been a substantial decline in the approval of US student visas for Indian applicants this year. While lakhs of applications for student and visitor visas to countries like the US and Canada are submitted annually from India, the approval rate for US student visas has taken a significant hit.

The number of approved student visa applications dropped to just 5,532 this year from 12,887 last year in August.

The number of Indian students, particularly those pursuing higher education in the US under the F-1 visa category, has seen a major drop in 2024.

According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data, 40,224 student visas were approved in June 2022-2023, compared to 26,747 in June of this tenure.

Similarly, while 31,803 student visas were approved in July last year, this year the number dropped to 14,607.

Overall, a total of 88,556 student visas were approved in 2023, compared to 58,726 this year, indicating a significant 20-25% decrease.

Parthesh Thakkar, a student visa expert, attributed this decline to several factors, including Indian students’ selection of US universities, research for academic courses, and inadequate preparation for TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) exams required for master’s degree programs.

Stark rise in US visitor visas

Conversely, there has been a substantial increase in the number of Indians visiting the US on visitor visas. The data for the B1-B2 category of visitor visas has shown a consistent upward trend over the past two years, with a doubling in the number of approvals in April.

While 50,525 visitor visas were approved in April 2023, the number jumped to 1,01,760 in April this year.

Similarly, 49,652 visitor visas were approved in August 2023, compared to 59,903 in August this year.

Overall, the USCIS approved 2,61,405 visitor visas from April to August last year, compared to 2,64,841 this year.