Hope US Assesses Visas Of Indian Students On Merit: MEA

New Delhi:In the wake of reports that the Trump administration has ordered a halt on all new student visa interviews at its embassies across the globe, as it considers putting in place procedures for increased social media vetting and screening of applicants, India on Thursday hoped that the US “assesses visa applications of Indian students on merit so that they can join their courses on time”.

At his weekly briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government had seen these media reports of “updated guidelines” that have been issued by the US government and added that the interests of Indian students are of “paramount concern” to New Delhi.

He nevertheless acknowledged that granting visas is a “sovereign function” of a country.

The MEA spokesperson said that about 3.30 lakh Indian students had secured visas for study in the US in 2023-24. In response to another query on a different issue, he said over a thousand Indian illegal immigrants have been deported from the US back to India since January this year.

Meanwhile, according to media reports from the US, a diplomatic cable sent on Tuesday by US secretary of state Marco Rubio quoted him as stating, “Effectively immediately in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued.”

It may be noted that the US has been cracking down on foreign students and revoking their student visas in some cases due to alleged participation in student protests and support for radical Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Trump Administration is obviously hoping that enhanced prior social media screening of applicants can help it gauge their views on important issues including political ones which in turn will help US authorities in deciding whether they should be given student visas or not.

The United States Embassy in New Delhi had on Tuesday also warned Indian students studying in the US or hopeful of pursuing their education there that if they dropped out, skipped classes or left their programmes of study without informing their institutes, they risked revocation of their student visas along with loss of eligibility for future US visas. The US Embassy had said, “If you dropout, skip cases or leave your program of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future US visas. Always adhere to the terms of your visa and maintain your student status to avoid any issues.” The US Embassy had last week warned that foreigners overstaying in the US after their visa expiry could be deported and face a permanent ban on travelling to the US in future. The US mission had said, “If you remain in the United States beyond your authorised period of stay, you could be deported and could face a permanent ban on traveling to the United States in the future.”

India had stated in March this year that “the visa policy lies within the sovereign functions of a nation” and had said, “We expect foreign nationals to abide by our rules. (Similarly) Indian nationals abroad must also comply with local rules and regulations.”