Good news for study abroad aspirants! The United States, U.S. embassy has tweeted to process visa applications from Monday, June 14, 2021, for Indian students. The aim is to facilitate student travel in time for the fall semester of 2021. Student visas remain a top priority for the U.S. Mission to India.

U.S. Embassy is making every attempt to facilitate student travel in time for the fall semester.  On June 14, 2021, it will open limited July and August study abroad student visa appointments at posts across India. Students may visit the official website, ustraveldocs.com, to view availability and schedule an appointment.

The tweet from the U.S. embassy on Study Abroad Indian aspirants says, “The U.S. Mission to India is opening July and August student visa appointments at posts across India on June 14, 2021. Students may visit our website, https://ustraveldocs.com/in, to view availability and schedule an appointment.”

News Aspirants:

Study abroad aspirants must review their I-20 program start date before the VISA interview. Students beginning a new program on or after August 1 may travel to the United States up to 30 days before the programme start date.  In this case, students need not submit a request for a national interest exception. 

Continuing Students:

Study abroad continuing students can resume their programs on or after August 1 and travel 30 days before their program resumption date. U.S. embassy said that they are unable to approve expedite requests for fall 2021 students with appointments in July or August. If the appointment date results in a late start, students are requested to reach out to their respective schools to discuss options.

Study abroad students can find additional updates on the operational status from the official website of the U.S. embassy, ustraveldocs.com.  In case of any additional questions, students can contact the U.S. embassy on 1-888-407-4747 from the United States or 1-202-501-4444 from India.

Students must note that a negative COVID-19 test required for travel taken within 72 hours of departure. It is also evident that the U.S. Mission will extend the validity of VISA fee payment until September 30, 2022, to allow all applicants to attend a visa appointment with the already paid fee. For more information on study abroad VISA applications, students must contact the U.S. embassy on the helpline details shared above.