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The US Embassy in India cancelled over 2,000 visa applications due to fraud-related activities. The embassy detected major violations in the appointment system by “bad actors” or bots and suspended their accounts, it said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“Consular Team India is cancelling about 2,000 visa appointments made by bots. We have zero tolerance for agents and fixers that violate our scheduling policies,” the US Embassy wrote in a post on X.<\/p>\n
“Effective immediately, we are cancelling these appointments and suspending the associated accounts’ scheduling privileges,” they added.<\/p>\n
\nConsular Team India is canceling about 2000 visa appointments made by bots. We have zero tolerance for agents and fixers that violate our scheduling policies. pic.twitter.com\/ypakf99eCo<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) March 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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B1 and B2 visas, meant for business and tourism, have seen significant backlogs<\/a> in recent years. In 2022-23, waiting times ranged from 800 to 1,000 days, prompting the US to open visa appointments for Indian applicants in Frankfurt and Bangkok.<\/p>\n
In 2022, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised concerns about the visa delays with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who attributed the backlog to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Jaishankar again spoke about these concerns in January this year to the second Trump administration.<\/p>\n
“If it takes 400-odd days of waiting period to get a visa, I don’t think the relationship is well served by this. He (Marco Rubio) also noted that point,” Mr Jaishankar said<\/a> after his bilateral meeting with US Senator Marco Rubio, where immigration issues were discussed.<\/p>\n
Beyond business and tourism visas, student visa denials have also surged. In FY 23-24 (October 2023 – September 2024), the US received 6.79 lakh applications for F-1 student visas, rejecting 2.79 lakh of them. This was a 41 per cent rejection rate<\/a>, a sharp increase from the previous year when 36 per cent of 6.99 lakh applications were denied.<\/p>\n
In 2014, the rejection rate was 15 per cent, which has now nearly tripled. The total number of visas approved has also declined, impacting universities and international students.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Though country-specific rejection rates are not officially disclosed, reports suggest that Indian students faced a 38 per cent drop in student visas issued in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.<\/p>\n
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