Indians form 2nd largest group of intl students in US: Envoy

With 1,86,000 Indian students currently studying in the United States, India is the second highest sender of foreign students to the US, next only to China, a diplomat has said.

US Consul General in Kolkata, Craig Hall, said that the United States is the top destination for foreign students worldwide and the number of Indian students in the US has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

"This rise in the number of Indian students studying in the United States brings me great hope. When we study together we learn together, we work together and we prosper together," the Consul General said at a programme here recently.

A Consulate statement quoted the Open Doors Report of 2017 to state that Indians comprised approximately 17 per cent of the total number of international students and over the past five years, there has been a 86 per cent increase in the number of Indian students studying in the United States.

Hall said, over 4,000 students from all over India appeared for visa interviews on the Student Visa Day at the US Mission's five visa-issuing posts, including Kolkata, for embarking on their educational journey to the US.

The Consul General formally handed over visas to 10 students on that day in Kolkata.

A consulate statement said, "Students are welcome to apply for visas on any day interviews are being conducted. On the Student Visa Day, the Embassy and Consulates interview students exclusively to celebrate the higher education ties that link the two countries.