As per recent data, students from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana accounted for a whopping 56 per cent of all Indian student visas issued by the United States in 2023, as reported by the US Consulate General.
With Telangana contributing 34 per cent and Andhra Pradesh 22 per cent, the two Telugu states are now a dominant force in India's educational footprint abroad.
While the exact number of students from these states was not disclosed, estimates suggest that approximately 1.8 lakh students from Andhra and Telangana travelled to the US last year, as part of India’s overall contribution of nearly 3.3 lakh students to US institutions.
The figures were shared during a visit to Visakhapatnam by the US Consulate’s Chief, Rebekah Drame, and Public Affairs Officer, Alexander McLaren, on Tuesday, November 19, reported the Times of India.
They highlighted a surge in student interest, pointing to a 300 per cent increase in the number of US students enrolling in Indian institutions compared to the previous year.
“The demand for visas in India is insatiable," Drame remarked, revealing that the US processed a record 1.4 million visas in 2023, “No other consulate in India has processed as many visas.”
This time, the Hyderabad consulate alone conducted over 47,000 student visa interviews during the summer 2024 season, up from 35,000 in 2023.
In addition to student visas, the consulate discussed several other key initiatives, including the highly successful H-1B domestic revalidation programme. For three months, 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the US were able to renew their visas without returning to India.
Drame expressed confidence that Washington would reinstate this programme as a permanent fixture next year due to its success, according to the report by TOI.
