New Delhi: Additional security requirements brought in by the Trump Administration this past June 18 to issue student visa to the United States “have further reduced the capacity of the US embassy and consulates in India to process visas”, the ministry for external affairs has told the Parliament.

“However, student visa appointments are now open," said the ministry.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji, minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, also said, “US embassy is working to open a limited number of additional student visa appointments through the end of August in recognition of the urgent need for these appointments before the start of the new academic year.”

The ministry said that the US embassy has conveyed to it that it “is developing a student visa fact sheet with FAQs (frequently asked questions) that should help reduce uncertainty around this issue.”

“For J-1 physician category, the US side has launched a software-based solution to prioritise their appointments. Several students who had previously reported unavailability of appointment slots under this category of visa and have now been able to get appointments,” the reply said.

The minister acknowledged that after the June 18 2025 press note issued by the US department of State (DOS) on screening and vetting of visa applicants, and conditions “including online presence” of the applicants which can lead to denials of their entry into the United States, the MEA “has received several representations  rom Indian students and their families flagging difficulty in obtaining visa appointments.”

“The Ministry took up the matter with US embassy in New Delhi as well as the US Department of State.”

This January, during his visit to the United States to have a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar had raised the matter.

“When it came to various regulations and processes, I flagged some concerns which are very widespread in India about delays in visas...the relationship is not well-served if it takes 400 odd days for people to get a visa,” Jaishankar had said.

Minister of state Singh told the Lok Sabha on July 24 that DOS had conveyed that every visa jurisdiction “is a national security decision”.

While agreeing that it “is a sovereign prerogative of the concerned state,” the Ministry has “consistently raised” with the US Administration about the issues faced by the prospective Indian students in obtaining US visas.

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