Study in US: Embassy issues new rules for student visa application process

NEW DELHI: The United States (US) Embassy in India has announced that it is mandatory for students aspiring to study in the US to use their passport information for visa application. The new policy for US student visa which will be implemented from today, November 27, has been announced to prevent fraud and abuse of the visa appointment system.

“All F, M, and J student visa applicants must use their own passport information when creating a profile and scheduling their visa appointment,” said the embassy in a post on X.

The embassy informed students the appointments of such students will be cancelled who apply with incorrect passport numbers. It explained that those applicants who have created a profile or booked an appointment for visa using an incorrect passport number will not be allowed at Visa Application Centers (VAC). “Their appointments will be cancelled and the visa fee will be lost,” the embassy stated.

Attention Students!
To prevent fraud and abuse of the appointment system, we are announcing the following policy change which will be implemented beginning November 27, 2023.

All F, M, and J student visa applicants must use their own passport information when creating a profile… pic.twitter.com/2JqoEg3DJ1

— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) November 24, 2023

Guiding such students, the US embassy said that the applicants should either create a new profile containing the correct passport information or access an existing profile which contains the correct passport information in order to book a visa appointment. For this, students will be required to pay a new visa fee if the old fee receipt has been attached to the profile with incorrect passport information.

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“An applicant who has recently renewed their passport, or obtained a new passport after the old passport was lost or stolen, may bring a photocopy or other evidence of the old passport number and they will be allowed to proceed with their appointment,” the US Embassy in India further said.