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Visa Applications Soar for Indian Students Who Want to Study in U.S. August 1, 2011 / The Chronicle of Higher Education Visa applications from Indian students seeking degrees in the United States are up sharply, and international-education experts say a confluence of factors, from a booming economy to stricter immigration restrictions in other top destination countries, are fueling the growth. Applications from prospective Indian students soared 20 percent in the 2011 fiscal year, compared with the previous year, according to figures from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. The State Department issued more than 24,500 visas to Indian students in the 2010 fiscal year. It's too soon to know just how many of those students will show up on American campuses for the fall semester, as application numbers tend to exceed actual enrollments. Some students will choose to stay at home or go elsewhere; others won't meet consular approval. But the visa-application figures suggest there is a resurgence of interest from India, the second-largest source of foreign students in the United States, after a couple of years in which enrollments stagnated or, at the graduate level, declined. Indeed, the visa totals don't take into account applications processed in July and August, two of the busiest months for college-student submissions. "The U.S. is becoming more attractive," said Rahul Choudaha, director of development and innovation at World Education Services, a nonprofit organization that specializes in foreign credentials and trends. Mr. Choudaha's group has seen a 24-percent increase in requests from Indian students during the first half of 2011 to have their credentials reviewed and verified. Right now, American colleges are as popular in India, Mr. Choudaha said, "as a Harry Potter movie." One of the biggest factors behind the growth, Mr. Choudaha and recruiters on the ground agree, is the tightening of immigration regulations in Australia and Britain, which could make it more difficult for international students to obtain visas and to remain in those countries after graduation to work. A series of high-profile assaults on Indian students in Australia also dampened interest in study there, and student-visa applications from India plummeted nearly 63 percent this past year, according to a new Australian government report. The United States, Australia, and Britain are the three most popular destinations for Indian students going abroad. "The UK has changed its rules, and students don't want to go there," said Gouri Shankar, the marketing head for Global Educational Consultancy, a Bangalore-based independent recruitment agency. As for Australia, after the 2009 attacks, "students are still scared of going," Mr. Shankar said. |
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