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Washington:
The new visa rules requiring worldwide college students within the US with an F-1 visa to take no less than one in-person course or face the prospect of deportation is prone to “cause uncertainties and difficulties” for some college students, the Indian Embassy right here has mentioned.
“These new modifications at a time when many of the US universities and colleges are yet to announce their plans for the new academic year are likely to cause uncertainties and difficulties for some Indian students wishing to pursue their studies in the US,” mentioned a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy.
Responding to media queries, the spokesperson mentioned the Indian authorities has taken up the matter with involved US officers.
At the India-US Foreign Office Consultations held on July 7, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla conveyed India’s issues on the matter to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.
According to a latest report of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there have been 1,94,556 Indian college students enrolled in varied educational establishments of the US in January this yr. Of these 1,26,132 have been males and 68,405 have been females.
Noting that partnership in increased training is a key part of the robust people-to-people ties between India and the US, the spokesperson mentioned within the final twenty years Indian college students in American universities and schools have been the harbingers of a robust partnership between know-how and innovation sectors between the 2 nations.
The spokesperson hoped that the US authorities would supply enough flexibility of their visa rule, maintaining in thoughts the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the Indian college students group.
“We continue to engage all the stakeholders in the matters, including the US administration officials, Congressional leaders, universities and colleges as well as the Indian students community in the US as we move forward towards the 2020-21 academic year to further strengthen our bilateral partnership in higher education,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Announced by the SEVP on July 6, the brand new guidelines present momentary exemptions for nonimmigrant college students on F-1 and M-1 visas taking on-line courses because of the COVID-19 pandemic for the autumn semester of the 2020 educational yr.
“While these modifications do provide some flexibility for US universities and colleges to adopt a hybrid model — that is a mixture of online and in person classes — they also restrict international students on F-1 and M-1 visas from taking courses entirely online,” the spokesperson mentioned.
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