MEA flags US visa woes after students face delays amid stricter vetting norms

The Ministry of External Affairs has received several complaints from Indian students and families facing difficulties in securing US student visa appointments following expanded vetting guidelines announced by the US State Department.

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has received several representations from Indian students and their families, flagging difficulty in obtaining US student visa appointments after American authorities announced an expanded screening and vetting for visa applicants, the government said on Thursday.

In a written response to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh also said the MEA took up the matter with the US embassy in New Delhi as well as the US Department of State.

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The ministry was asked whether the government is aware of US student visa issues being faced by prospective Indian students.

“On 18 June 2025, US Department of State (DOS) issued a press release titled ‘Announcement of Expanded Screening and Vetting for Visa Applicants’. In the said press release, DOS stated that it uses all available information in its visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to US national security,” the minister said.

Under the new guidelines, the US would conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications.

To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas would be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on their social media profiles to “public”, according to the guidelines.

“Following these developments, the Ministry of External Affairs has received several representations from Indian students and their families flagging difficulty in obtaining student visa appointments. The ministry took up the matter with US Embassy in New Delhi as well as the US Department of State,” Singh said.

While the issuance of visa is a sovereign prerogative of the state concerned, the MEA has “consistently raised” with the US embassy in New Delhi as well as the US State Department in Washington DC the issues being faced by prospective Indian students in obtaining US visas, he added.

“The Government of India remains engaged with the US Government to promote mutually advantageous and secure mobility frameworks that allow for streamlining avenues for legal mobility of students and professionals, and facilitating short-term tourist and business travel,” Singh said.

In a written response to a separate query, the MoS said the Indian government remains engaged with authorities in the United States on “addressing illegal immigration and human trafficking by taking strong action against the bad actors, criminal facilitators, and illegal immigration networks”.

In a separate query, the MEA was asked whether the government has taken cognisance of the illegal-immigration rackets operating in the country that fraudulently send Indians abroad, causing loss of money and national reputation.

The ministry issues advisories through the eMigrate portal, social media handles and other modes of publicity about the perils of fake job rackets and ways to prevent the same. “Till June 2025, a total of 3,505 illegal agents in the country have been notified on the eMigrate portal,” Singh said.

An awareness campaign on safe and legal migration through the eMigrate portal has been carried out by the ministry across the country by conducting workshops, training, information sessions, digital campaigns for media groups, police officials and law enforcement agencies, local administration, aspiring recruiting agents, entrepreneurs and the general public, the minister added.

“During these sessions, awareness emigration regulations, schemes beneficial for emigrants like Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY), Pre-Departure Orientation Training (PDOT), eMigrate portal and various advisories issued by Indian embassies are brought to the notice of all stakeholders,” he said.