Increase in the number of Indian students
in US post 9/11
New Delhi, May 17, 2004
PTI
Countering the perception that it had become more difficult
for Indian students to get visas to study in the US post-9/11, American
Ambassador David C Mulford on Monday said for the second straight year
the maximum number of overseas students in that country were from India.
Noting that the growth of Indian student
population in the US has been "phenomenal", doubling in just
five years, Mulford said there were 74,603 students from India on American
campuses in the academic year 2002-03, which was more than the students
from any other country.
"Some observers, however, have recently
created the perception that is has become more difficult for students
to get visas to study in the United States. Closer scrutiny of the issue
reveals a very different picture," the US envoy said in a statement
here.
He said the US recognises that to remain
competitive it must do what was necessary to attract the "best
and the brightest" and had invested heavily in technology and people
to balance that with the increased security concerns after the September
11 attacks.
"As we implement important measures
to make our borders and the travelling public more secure, it is important
to point out that these steps have not changed the criteria for issuing
visas to visit or study in the United States," he said.
He said the Student and Exchange Visitor
Information System (SEVIS) "eliminated altogether" the need
to delay some student applications.