The US embassy’s bid to fast-track visas for Indian students aiming to pursue higher education in the US has met with a few teething problems as a huge backlog of aspirants swarmed to the portal on Monday, resulting in a few technical hiccups.
The US mission in India said on Sunday it would open visa interview slots to facilitate the legitimate travel of Indian students as a top priority in the next two months and that students headed to the US would not require any proof of Covid-19 vaccination to fly to the country. All they will need is a negative Covid test taken in the previous 72 hours, it was said.
The U.S. Mission to India is opening July and August student visa appointments at posts across India on June 14, 2021. Students may visit our website, https://t.co/ge5EeIRsKI, to view availability and schedule an appointment. Read more: https://t.co/qDtLHwHN4a
— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) June 10, 2021
However, the huge rush for slots put the embassy’s systems under strain and led to technical difficulties. The embassy acknowledged some of the issues that anxious students may be faced with as the portal dealt with the enormous load, asking students not to “refresh too often”, as it could lock them out of their accounts.
The warning may have come too late for some students who were locked out of their accounts with no prior warning and implored the embassy to make an exception to unlock their accounts.
We are aware of the high demand for student visa appointments. Please remember, do not refresh too often, as you may be locked out of your account. Appointments remain available at all posts, and we will continue to add appointments as conditions allow.
— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) June 14, 2021
Some frustrated students lashed out at the mission, faulting the organisation for being unprepared to deal with the influx of students even though it was aware of the high demand.
My account got locked without even a prior warning. Many others are facing this issue too.
Request you to unlock the accounts, atleast this time.
— Sumedh Rishi (@sumedhrishi22) June 14, 2021
My account has been locked for 72 hours for refreshing,is there a way to unlock it.There is no suspicious activity behind it. I was simply trying to connect back to the servers and complete my booking .
Please advise? Thanks— naveen reddy (@naveenpyreddy) June 14, 2021
Others asked the consulate for more information to ease panic and allow people to plan out their booking attempts accordingly.
This is not something we expect from the US Consulate. Inspite of knowing about the high demand necessary steps have NOT been taken to ensure a smooth process and experience. IT infrastructure is terrible. Pls fix it.
— PranavGala (@PranavGala) June 15, 2021
Though fears that they may be barred from foreign universities amid the pandemic have eased, students are rushing to get their documentation together to join US universities by August. Meanwhile, the French embassy has also invited students from India to apply for visas to study at universities in France.
