Amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown against immigration and tariffs, a recent analysis of State Department data revealed that US F-1 visa denials have soared high at 41 per cent in the last fiscal year. According to The Indian Express, the rejection rate has nearly doubled to that of the 2014 fiscal year.

Advertisment

During the fiscal year from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, the US received 679,000 F-1 visa applications, out of which 279,000 were denied, bringing the rejection rate to 41 per cent. While in 2022-23, the US rejected 253,00 (36 per cent) out of 699,000 applications.

While the US State Department has not shared country-specific refusal rates for F-1 visas, earlier reports highlighted that student visas issued to Indian applicants significantly dropped by 38 per cent in the first nine months of 2024 when compared to the same period in 2023.

Also read | US investigates nearly 1.3 million Ford F-150 trucks for unexpected gear shift issue

Advertisment

The data also showed that the percentage of student visa rejections increased despite a decline in the number of applications over the last decade. The number of applications peaked in 2014-15 with 856,000 applications, however, it soon saw a steady decline with the lowest hitting 162,000 applications during the COVID year of 2019-20. 

Although the applications have increased post-COVID, there was a 3 per cent dip in 2023-24 than in the previous year. In years 2023-24, 401,000 F-1 visas were issued, down from the previous year’s 445,000.

F-1 visa, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of US student visas, is a non-immigrant category for students attending US academic institutions. The non-vocational and non-academic programs are covered under the M-1 visa.

Advertisment

Also read | US and Russia talks on Ukraine peace deal underway in Saudi Arabia: Trump-brokered ceasefire in sight?

Department spokesperson on high rejection rates

On the rising rejection rate of F-1 visas, a Department of State spokesperson told The Indian Express, “All visa adjudications are adjudicated on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and applicable federal regulations.”

The spokesperson also highlighted a change in methodology for calculating visa data from FY2019 onwards, adding that “previous methodology was based on a count of workload actions, which were not linked by application.”

Also read | Nippon steel confirms ongoing US steel acquisition talks with Washington

“The new methodology more accurately reflects final outcomes from the visa application process during a specified reporting period. The new methodology follows visa applications, including updates to their status (i.e., issued or refused), which could change as the fiscal year progresses, or result in slight changes in data for earlier years. Therefore, beginning with FY 2020, individual monthly issuance reports should not be aggregated, as this will not provide an accurate issuance total for the fiscal year to date,” the spokesperson said, as cited by The Indian Express.

In 2023, more than 100,000 Indian students were issued the US visa. However, that number dipped to about 64,008 for the first nine months of 2024.

(With inputs from agencies)