Breaking News: US Hits Record High in Student Visa Denials
Snapshot:
Recent reports have highlighted a concerning trend: a rise in rejection rates for US F1 student visas. In the past year, over 250,000 visa requests were denied, marking the highest denial rate in two decades, representing approximately 36% of all applications submitted during that period. While rejection rates have seen a slight increase, they haven’t surged dramatically compared to previous years, offering some reassurance.
It’s worth noting the statistical data from the last five years: the F1 visa rejection rate ranged from 29.26% to a high of 34.97% in 2018, with a low of 19.84% in 2021 (Covid year). In 2022, it stood at 34.93%.
For students seeking assistance in applying for study abroad visas, counselors are essential in navigating the F1 visa application process effectively. Thorough preparation and guidance from experienced counselors significantly increase the chances of success for applicants. This underscores the critical role of skilled and knowledgeable counselors in supporting students through the complexities of the visa application process.
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This headline, or variations of it, appeared in numerous newspapers in the first and second week of this month. It appeared in the Financial Express, the Economic Times, Business Today, and other Indian publications. The story was picked up by the media all over the world. The source of all the stories was a Washington DC-based think-tank called the Cato Institute* (formerly known as the Charles Koch Foundation**).
Here’s where you can find out about the source:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_Institute
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Koch
Now what about that super-scary headline and the story that went with it?
The writers rolled out big statistics:
The U.S. rejected over 250,000 student visa requests in 2022-23, marking the highest denial rate in 20 years. The rejection figure represented approximately 36% of all applications submitted last year. (That was for all F1 visa applications, worldwide.) Visas were granted to 140,000 Indian applicants. (No exact figure for the number of rejections.)
Are you frantically looking for the Panic Button so that you can push it?
Take a deep breath, cool down, restrain that itchy button-finger. Delving deeper into the alleged F1 Visa Nosedive, reveals that the situation is nowhere near as dire as the Cato researchers would have us believe.
The US Department of State has NOT developed a blanket negative attitude to would-be students from foreign countries. Certainly not to would-be students from India. Quite the contrary: the most represented foreign students last year were Indian students. According to the US Embassy in India, more visas were issued to Indian students than to students from any other country. As a result of these surging numbers, Indian students have become the largest group of international graduate students in the United States and make up more than a quarter of the over one million foreign students studying in the United States.
We found statistics for five years (2018-2022) at the website of The US Grad***. Repeating all the data here would lengthen this post way beyond bounds of reader patience. Check them out for yourself.
Here’s the link: https://theusgrad.com/f1-visa-issuances-by-country/india-ind
*** How credible is the data given by TheUSGrad.com ? Here is how this organisation defines itself:
“TheUSGrad.com tracks data from the US Department of State, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security and other websites for providing official data and analysis. TheUSGrad.com is not affiliated with any US Government agency.”
TheUSGrad is headquartered in Bengaluru, with one Sateesh Kumar Ilu as its CEO (see https://www.linkedin.com/in/satheeshilu/?originalSubdomain=in )
According to TheUSGrad.com, the US Department of State releases only F1 Visa approvals or issuances. It does not publish country-by-country statistics enumerating student visa rejections. If one has an accurate figure of the total applications, or countrywise applications, one can then subtract the number of approvals and the remainder would be the number of rejections, worldwide and countrywise. Apparently, this is the method used by the Cato Institute to arrive at a 36% rejection figure.
TheUSGrad.com used statistical modelling to arrive at the approximate F1 rejection rates in India based on the global F1 visa rejection rates. Here’s what this site came up with:
Chart 1
*Fiscal Year(FY) for US Dept of State & USCIS starts from Oct 1st, ends Sep 30th.
E.g. Fiscal Year 2023 Starts Oct 1, 2022, ends Sep 30, 2023
Chart 2
We can see from Chart 2 that over five years, the F1 visa rejection rate has averaged 29.26%, with a low of 19.84% in 2021 (Covid year) and a high in 2018 of 34.97%. In 2022, it was 34.93%. If the Cato Institute figure for the 2023 rejection rate is accurate (36%), then the rate has indeed risen … but only by about 1%.
TELL YOUR CLIENTS TO BUCK UP. THEIR CHANCE OF GETTING AN F1 VISA IS NOT SUDDENLY SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN IT HAS BEEN OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
That said, the responsibility for making a student’s F1 visa application as perfect as possible lies squarely on the shoulders of both the student and visa counsellor.
An important step toward application acceptance is understanding the reasons why F1 visa applications are rejected. Here’s a short list:
- Lack of financial documentation
- Insufficient ties to home country
- Prior visa denials or immigration violations
- Ineligibility for the chosen program of study
- Failure to meet English language requirements
- Unclear purpose of travel
Don’t start filling out an application until the counsellor and student can cross off all the rejection reasons and answer all possible objections to the student’s application.
Immigration law and immigration processes are complicated no matter what country you dealing with. A student may be brilliant in his or her subject, but when it comes to navigating complex laws and processes, they need the help of a thoroughly knowledgeable and experienced professional. In other words, an immigration counsellor.
The students who seek out study-abroad companies are the A-listers. The academically mediocre are generally sufficiently realistic to know that their chances of gaining admission in a foreign university are low to non-existent. Bright students check out the reputation of study-abroad companies before they walk in the door. If such a student has opted for your company, it is a vote of confidence in your ability to help them get that coveted “VISA GRANTED” stamp. Every successful outcome builds a company’s reputation and with high reputation comes high rewards.
A good visa counsellor is knowledgeable in terms of immigration law and process, cautious and diligent, and hyper-sensitive to potential blunders that will cost the student his or her visa. They ensure that the information on a visa application is precise and consistent. Ambiguous and inconsistent entries most certainly lead to rejection.
Above all, a good counsellor prepares the visa seeker for their embassy interview with special attention to the Number One affirmation that embassy officers want to hear. The student must say: “I don’t plan to remain in the US. I will pursue my career in India.” They must say it repeatedly and with conviction.
A part of their duties that many study abroad companies neglect is preparing a student for the possibility of visa rejection. Rolling with a rejection punch is not easy but the counsellor must make it clear that it’s not the end of the world. Many students achieve their visa goal on the second, third or fourth attempt. When an F1 visa is rejected, reasons are assigned. Students and counsellors must analyse those reasons and deal with them. They must do whatever has to be done to overcome the objections. A good visa counsellor gives a student solid advice for the first attempt; an excellent visa counsellor knows what to do for a repeat application.
Getting an F1 visa is a life-changing event for the applicant and a victory for the counsellor and company that helped make it possible. It’s a cooperative venture: when counsellors and students come together with commitment and cooperation, they stand a good chance of scoring that precious F1.