The new US Consulate office coming up in Cyberabad will have 54 visa interview windows compared to the 14 windows in the current building at Begumpet, thus making visa processing easier and faster, according to Consul General Joel Reifman.
The new state-of-the-art building, likely to be completed within a year, will have 1.80 lakh sft space and will reflect the important relationship the US government has with Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, the three States covered by the Consulate in Hyderabad.
The Consult General was speaking after inaugurating the new ‘EducationUSA’ Centre at Y-Axis Foundation and said that out of the two lakh Indian students on USA campuses, majority are from the two Telugu States while overall Indians contribute one-sixth of the total international student population in the US. The tie-up with the private entity will help disseminate information on US education professionally.
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Mr. Reifman said that COVID has been challenging for many students opting to study abroad and many dropped plans to go abroad. “Here in Hyderabad we are working diligently to provide visa services in a safe and responsible manner. We prioritised student visa appointments and did our best to make sure students arrived at their campuses on time.”
He also said the student visa policy remained constant and the United States continues to welcome all qualified Indian students to come to study in America,” he said. “US education is a great investment and a great value.”
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Minister Counsellor, Public Affairs, US Embassy, New Delhi, David Kennedy said the new centre at Y-Axis in Jubilee Hills will provide US higher education advice to prospective students free of charge. The partnership of EducationUSA with a private education consulting foundation was the first of its kind, he said and hoped that the information would reach a large number.
The U.S. Embassy has provided Y-Axis Foundation with expert training so that they are able to apply quality and ethical methodology to their student advising. The five new advisers at the centre are part of a robust Indian network of eight centres and over 30 advisers across the country.
Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate General, Hyderabad, David Moyer said there is a surge in student visa applicants this year though they did not have exact figures as of now. It is more that the previous years understandably due to the opening up of US campuses after COVID restrictions. Y-Axis Foundation founder Xavier Augustin also spoke.