New Delhi:
Those previously denied F-1 student visas will not be able to get a seat when nomination applications open this summer, U.S. Embassy Secretary of Consular Affairs Donald L Heflin said Wednesday.
During the 45-minute live chat on the webpage of the US Consulate General in Delhi, Mr Heflin said the summer student visa season will open in June and the first half of July.
“We want it to be summer season for new applicants. People who have never applied before, students who have just finished high school and want to graduate or students who have just graduated and want to go for Masters. This summer when we are open for appointments “If you’ve been refused before, you won’t get a seat,” Mr Heflin said.
“Later in the summer, from August 15 to September 1, about 15,000 appointments will be available for people who were turned down this summer or last year. I know it drives a lot of people crazy, but we’ve been shut down for a long time in view of the pandemic. We didn’t have a group of people who were denied before reapplying, we have a lot of them now…hence the decision,” he said.
Mr Heflin said India is likely to issue eight lakh US visas within 12 months in what he hoped will be a year of recovery for visa operations since the disruptions caused by COVID-19.
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