F-1 Student Visas for Indian Nationals Plunge by 38% in First Nine Months of 2024

December 11 :
U.S. F-1 student visas granted to Indian citizens in the first nine months of 2024 were 38% lower than in the same time last year.Compared to 1,03,495 in the same period in 2023, the number of F-1 visas awarded to Indian students this year was 64,008, according to data from the US State Department.

Reportedly, this figure is lower than the 93,181 issued in 2022 and somewhat higher than the 65,235 recorded in 2021, reaching the lowest amount since the pandemic. U.S. educational institutions grant the F-1 visa to international students, who make up more than 90% of all student visas awarded each year. Despite some recent successes, the number of Indian students enrolled in US universities has fallen.

The number of F-1 visas issued by India finally overtook China's in the 2022–23 school year. Furthermore, the Open Doors 2024 study states that 3,31,000 Indian students were enrolled for the 2023–24 academic year, making them the largest international student cohort in the US.

The decline in visa applications is affecting students from all across the world, not just India. During the same year, there was an 8 percent decrease in the issuance of F-1 visas to Chinese citizens, who are the second-largest group of international students in the US. The number of visas granted to Chinese students decreased from 80,603 in 2023 to 73,781 from January to September 2024.

When contrasted with recent years, this drop is noteworthy. During the same span in 2020—a year afflicted by a pandemic—just 6,646 F-1 visas were given to students from India. Despite being higher than 2020, the numbers for 2024 show a significant decline compared to the years that followed, when international enrollment at US colleges had a post-pandemic upturn, with Indian students playing a key role.