US to start student visa application process from mid-May
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 May, 2023 03:47 PM
New Delhi, May 2 (IANS) The US will begin processing student visa applications for the Fall Session with the first batch of appointments available from mid-May.
"Attention students! In mid-May, the US Mission to India will open the first batch of appointments for the upcoming student visa season," the US Consulate General in Hyderabad announced via a tweet.
"Additional appointments will be released later in the season. Prepare for your appointments and stay tuned for more student visa related announcements," it said.
The US consulates processed nearly 1.25 lakh visa applications of students in India last year.
The country intends to increase visa interview appointments for Indian students by 30 per cent this summer.
In a much needed breather for students, the State Department announced in February that the 'F' and 'M' categories of student visas can now be issued up to a year in advance.
Previously, international students could apply only 120 days before the start of their study program.
Now they can submit their application 365 days in advance.
The development comes with the State Department announcing a hike in the fees of student visas.
Beginning May 30, the fees for non-petition based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from $160 to $185 (Rs 15,140 for Indians).
The biggest weekly rise in new COVID-19 cases was seen in the Middle East, where they increased by 47%, according to the report released late Wednesday. Infections rose by about 32% in Europe and Southeast Asia, and by about 14% in the Americas, WHO said.
At least 40 people were found dead inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas, local authorities said. The tractor-trailer truck was found on Monday evening next to railroad tracks in a remote area on the city's southern outskirts, Xinhua news agency reported citing local media as saying.
The News, quoting police sources, said that Satnam Singh had borrowed the jeep from a friend and detectives were looking into whether he was the shooter's intended target or had been mistakenly killed by someone who actually wanted to attack the owner of the vehicle.
Dr. Bruce Aylward says in an interview that if getting control of the pandemic by investing in vaccines and treatments for all countries isn't important to the G7, it won't be important to anyone.
The court struck down the landmark Roe vs Wade decision, weeks after an unprecedented leaked document suggested it favoured doing so, the BBC reported on Friday. The judgement will transform abortion rights in the US, with individual states now able to ban the procedure.
The New York Post, quoting neighbours and relatives, identified the couple as Nanda Balo Persaud and Bono Salima 'Sally' Persaud. The body of their son Devon Persaud, 22, was found only the next day.
.jpg "US Supreme Court strikes down abortion rights")
