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.