Indian students this year get twice as many US visas as China: Report

While the US gets most international students from China, Indians this year (till July) got about twice the number of students visas as the Chinese, showed an analysis of non-immigrant visas issued by the US State Department, reported The Indian Express. 

A total of 77,799 Indian students received F-1 visas from January to July this year, while in China, 46,145 got the visa, the report said. 

The F-1 visa is issued to those who wish to study at a US university or college, high school, private elementary school, or, other academic institutions. The US also issues M-1 visas for international students, who wish to study at vocational or other recognised non-academic institutions, other than language training programmes. This report by IE has only taken F-1 visas into account. 

Even though the number of Chinese students going to the US for higher studies has declined since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, China still accounts for highest number of international students studying in America. This is followed by India and South Korea at the second and third places, respectively, the IE report said. 

In 2021, 99,431 Chinese students got F-1 visas, while from India, 87,258 got the visa and from South Korea, 16,865. This number for the year 2020 was at 4,853 for China and 21,908 for India, The Indian Express report stated. The figures were significantly hit in 2020 due to Covid-prompted lockdowns in different nations and China's severe movement restrictions on its citizens. 

The US economy benefits greatly from international students, as in 2019, before the pandemic, foreign citizens studying in America contributed $44 billion to the nation's economy. Out of this, $16 billion came from Chinese students and nearly $8 billion from Indians, the report said. 

After the US, the UK attracts a lot of foreign students, and the nation too witnessed a sharp increase in Indian students getting education visas against their Chinese counterparts. 

In the July 2021-June 2022 period, the UK issued 486,868 sponsored study visas, out of which, 117,965 accounted for Indian students — an 89 per cent rise from the previous year, reported IE. Meanwhile, a total of 115,056 study visas were granted to Chinese students. 

Compared to 2019, Indians students saw a 21 per cent increase in study visas from the UK, while for China, the number dipped by 4 per cent, the report stated.