No change in visa policy towards Indian students: US

WASHINGTON: The US
has said that there is no
change in its policy towards
issuing visas to Indian students.
“I don’t think we’ve
changed our policy with regard
to the way we interview
applicants,” State Department
spokesperson Victoria
Nuland told reporters at her
daily news conference.
“I think what we are doing
is making sure that the sponsoring
organisations truly
are what they say they are
in the United States; that if
they say that they are bringing
students over to educate
them, that they intend to
educate them, not put them
to work, et cetera,” she said.
Nuland said the US supports
the recent initiative
of opening community colleges
in India on the pattern
of those here. Last week,
education ministers of four
Indian States - Punjab, Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, and
Jammu and Kashmir, visited
several US cities to
have a fi rst hand experience
of the community colleges
here. “Well, obviously, we
support this initiative. We
have been working with the
Indian side to fl esh out the
initiative that was agreed
between the President and
the prime minister through
our Education Bureau here.
And obviously, we are
responsible for the visa issuance
for the various folks
studying in the United
States,” Nuland said.