March 14, 2013
NEW DELHI: Getting an American university degree is back on the popularity charts following a two-year dip. Latest data shows an increase of 50% in visas issued to Indian students since last year. Incidentally, this could finally buck the trend for the last two years. There are about 100,270 students currently studying in the United States.
March 14, 2013
NEW DELHI: Getting an American university degree is back on the popularity charts following a two-year dip. Latest data shows an increase of 50% in visas issued to Indian students since last year. Incidentally, this could finally buck the trend for the last two years. There are about 100,270 students currently studying in the United States.
According to the US consulate services, 5600 student visas have been issued in India between October 2012-February 2013 marking a 50% increase since last year.
The Open Door report 2012–that documents international students studying in the US–notes the number of Indian students in the U.S. in 2011-2012 dropped 3.5% compared to the previous year, marking two consecutive years of decline.
India had been the leading place of origin for international students in the US from 2001-02 through 2008-09 before being overtaken by China.
Students from India make up approximately 13.1% of the total foreign student population in the United States.
Speaking on the rise in student visas US embassy consul general Josh Glazeroff said, "We are seeing really big growth in student visa issuance so far….For us it is a huge jump….really positive. We think this is in response to all the outreach we have been doing."
The consular services in conjunction with the US-India Educational Foundation ( USEIF) has in recent months targeted not just schools in metro cities but tier II cities as well.
Outreach programs have been held in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Guwahati in the last few months.
The visa section also issued 500,000 visas for tourist and business travel last year, up by 12%, which is the highest in the last 5 years.
Courtesy: TOI
