Indians chosen in US varsities struggle for visa appointment

Indian students accepted into U.S. universities are experiencing severe struggles in obtaining visa appointments, creating uncertainty and anxiety as the academic year approaches in August and September. Many describe the current situation as more challenging than in recent years, when persistent backlogs have already been a concern. Education counselors and applicants report that securing appointments after April has become exceptionally difficult.

“

Students are not getting appointments, even through visa agents. I don’t know what people are going to do because this year is unprecedented. In earlier years, they came up with emergency appointments for this. But I haven’t heard this yet and today is the 17th of July.

Mrinalini Batra, who leads International Education Exchange, noted that students are unable to get appointments, even through agents. She described this year as unprecedented, stating that emergency appointments, which previously helped alleviate pressure, have not been observed. The urgency is mounting, as colleges are set to begin in mid-August, and many students still lack confirmed visa slots, with the earliest available appointments now in September or October.

The crisis gained wider attention when an Indian law student from Kerala, who had an admission offer and a significant scholarship from Harvard Law School, shared her inability to book a visa slot on social media. Parents are also facing similar delays, with some having tried for over a month for appointments. Despite receiving the necessary I-20 documents from U.S. universities on time, they are finding no visa slots available. Some universities have offered to defer admissions to the spring semester, starting in January, as a potential solution.

“

We’ve been trying for over a month now for appointments. We received the I-20 well on time from my son’s chosen US university, and everything was going through. But there are no visa slots available at all. The earliest slot that is now coming is somewhere in September and October. But colleges start around mid-August and we have nothing here.

Education consultants trace the current delays back to the COVID-19 pandemic, which created extensive visa backlogs for Indian visitors and students. While U.S. institutions begin their admission acceptance processes between December and April, leaving many to apply for visas later, the lack of available slots this year is a new and significant hurdle. Without timely appointments, some students may be forced to consider alternative destinations like Singapore or the UK.

“

The fact that there are no slots this year is really something new. Earlier, they did release slots and I didn’t hear of anyone who didn’t go last year because they didn’t get a slot. They didn’t go because they didn’t get a visa. Now there are two students I know who are waiting and if they don’t get appointments by the end of this month, I think that they will opt to go to either Singapore or the UK, assuming they get those visas.