Washington DC:
Indian students are witnessing a massive decline in the number of study visas issued. The latest data from the US Department of State shows that there was a 38 percent decline in the number of F-1 student visas issued to Indian nationals in the first nine months of 2024, compared to the same period the year before.
Data from the Bureau of Consular Affairs' monthly reports shows that Indian students were issued 64,008 F-1 visas between January and September this year, a sharp decline from the 1,03,495 visas issued during the same period in 2023.
This is the least number of visas issued to Indian students since the pandemic-hit 2020, when only 6,646 applications were processed during the same period. In a post-pandemic upturn, a total of 93,181 Indian students were granted F-1 visas between January 2022 and September 2022, while this number stood at 65,235 in 2021.
However, the decline is not unique to Indian students as Chinese students, the second largest international cohort in the US, also witnessed an 8 percent decline in the issuance of F-1 visas in 2024.
According to the official data, a total of 73,781 F-1 visas were issued to Chinese students in the first nine months of 2024, compared to 80,603 issued in the same period in 2023. However, the number was still higher than 52,034. F-1 visas issued to Chinese students in 2022.
About F1 visa
An F-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows international students from all over the world to study full-time in the United States. It is the most common visa status for students from other countries in the US.
Interestingly, in 2024, Indians surpassed Chinese non-migrants to become the largest group of foreign students in the United States. According to the Open Doors 2024 report, 3,31,000 Indian students studied at US institutions during the 2023-2024 academic year, compared to 2,68,923 the year before.
At the same time, the number of Chinese students in the US declined. According to the Open Doors 2024 report, there were 2,77,398 Chinese students in the US in 2023-2024, down almost 12,000 from 2,89,526 in 2022-2023. China also witnessed an 8 percent decline in the issuance of F-1 visas in 2024.
