US Bars Indians from Applying Student, Visitor Visas Abroad

• The US State Department now requires Indians to apply for student, visitor, and work visas only in India.
• Many applicants had turned to countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and Europe to bypass long interview wait times.
• The rule change affects mainly F-1 students and B1/B2 visitor visa applicants, forcing them to reapply in India.

Indians seeking US student or visitor visas abroad in nations such as Vietnam, Thailand, and parts of Europe to avoid lengthy interview wait times in their own country are confronting another hurdle due to the recent directive from the Department of State (DoS) released on September 6.

The US Department of State has required that non-immigrant visas such as visitor (B1/B2), employment (H-1B and O-1), and student (F1) can only be requested from the country where applicants are citizens or reside, effective immediately. This implies that Indian residents or citizens aiming to speed up their visa process by applying in different countries, but who haven't finished the process, will now have to apply solely in India.

This occurs when US visa processing is already overwhelmed, with wait times exceeding a year for short-term visitor visas and limited availability for student visas.

Rachit Agarwal, the creator of AdmitKard, a startup specializing in overseas education for the US and Canada, mentioned that since June, securing visa slots has been challenging, and one strategy they discovered was to apply through different regions.

“We are sending students to Dubai, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, to get US visas, since slots are open in those countries,” he said. However, this procedure is expensive, as the candidates must allocate a minimum of one week in that nation to provide biometrics and attend an interview, since both cannot be completed on the same day.

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The option to apply in another country was provided during the Covid-19 surge to alleviate backlogs. Currently, the DoS is eliminating that flexibility. Gnanamookan Senthurjoti, Founder of immigration platform The Visa Code, mentioned that numerous individuals who had submitted applications for student or visitor visas in regions like Europe, Asia, and the Middle East will now be required to reapply. Most of them are on student visas (F-1) or in the B1/B2 category, with a portion including those who applied for work visa extensions as well.

“They had applied overseas for two reasons. The wait times to get interview slots for some visas are much longer in India and the scrutiny is more,” he said.

In recent months, Indian students seeking admission to US universities have faced unpredictability. Senthurjoti stated that there have been restricted slots for Indian students to reserve since June, and even those slots fill up rapidly. Individuals seeking a B1/B2 visa, which is a temporary visa for tourism and business in the US, have also submitted applications from these areas

“Nearly everything is becoming more challenging in US immigration right now, and B-1/B-2 visas are no exception,” said Joel Yanovich, attorney at Murthy Law Firm.