US visa slots vanish overnight leaving thousands of Indian students in limbo

Thousands of students from Ahmedabad aiming to study in the US this summer are facing a major setback as visa interview appointments have become unavailable since mid-March. While the January intake saw smooth processing, the recent disappearance ...

By ET Online | Apr 17, 2025, 12.30 PM IST

The road to the American dream has hit a fresh speed-breaker - visa appointments have suddenly gone off the radar for thousands of students from Ahmedabad planning to fly to the US this summer. While the January intake went smoothly for students securing visa appointment slots well in time, the situation over the past 20-25 days is starkly different.

According to travel industry experts, since mid-March the unavailability of visa interview appointments has left aspirants as well as visa consultants in a fix.

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"Students had received April slots when they booked appointments in Feb or early March. Now, appointment dates for May are not available at all. They've secured admissions and I-20 forms from universities but are under tremendous stress due to the uncertainty in scheduling visa interviews," Maulin Joshi, a city-based visa consultant told TOI.

"The post-election period late last year saw one of the smoothest visa cycles in recent memory. Students scheduled to join universities during the January intake got quick appointments. That ease is missing now, and it's worrying," he added.

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Industry sources say the recent crackdown by the US embassy in India also had an impact. "The US embassy is upgrading its systems to plug loopholes being misused through illegal methods to grab visa appointment slots...," said Janak Nayak, an immigration consultant.

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"We've been checking the portal daily, but it's blank. No slots for student visas since March 10. If this continues, many students may miss their Fall 2025 intake timelines," said Bhavin Thaker, another foreign education consultant.

Industry players suggest that last year, while appointments were available, refusal rates were fairly high, which left students anxious. "With the new govt taking charge in the US, there are a number of changes in US immigration policies, which has further worried students. With no official communication on when US student visa appointment slots will open, the students are under tremendous pressure," said Ritesh Desai, another visa consultant from Ahmedabad who has seen a sharp rise in student walk-ins with similar concerns.

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