No change in US visa rules for Indian students

United States, 26th April: US has clarified that it has not introduced any recent change in US student rules for Indians.

No change in US student visa rules— Giving details about the issue during a news conference, an official spokesperson of the US State Department, Victoria Nuland said the US visa policy for interviewing applicants from India wanting to move to the US on study visas will be the same.

She maintained that the only issue is to ensure that the organizations offering sponsorships to bring Indian students in the US are legal and licensed.

Such sponsoring institutes in the US must not aim or provide work or employment to Indian students, she asserted. Their intentions should be genuine in the sense that they must impart education to the Indian students when they promise to educate them in the US, Nuland quipped.

US welcomes community colleges in India—The US is supportive of setting up of community colleges in India on the pattern of America recently, Nuland informed. There are several community colleges in the US and the nation really appreciates such a process in India, she stated. She said the US has been urging India in this regard for quite some time now.

There has been an agreement between the Indian PM (Prime Minister) Dr. Manmohan Singh and the US President Barack Obama through the Education Bureau of the US. And the US remains committed to the issue of visa issuance for Indians studying in the nation, affirmed Nuland.

In a bid to know more about US community colleges, education minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, MP(Madhya Pradesh) and Bihar made a visit to a couple of US cities last week.

The idea was to get more knowledge about such colleges. These community colleges are publicly funded institutes that lure local students to get themselves enrolled. When questioned whether the US accepts Indian degrees, Nuland said it solely depends on the individual case like where the concerned student is graduating from.

Crackdown on fake universities—It may be worth noted that the crackdown by the US on fake or sham universities in the nation will not lead to any change in the issuance of US visa rules. The aim of such crackdown is to offer increased scrutiny of US institutes.