“We have seen reports suggesting the U.S. government updated guidance regarding Student and Exchange Visitor visa applicants,” Mr. Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing. “While we note that issuance of visa is a sovereign function, we hope that the application of Indian students will be considered on merit and they will be able to join their academic programmes on time,” he added.

Mr. Jaiswal also pointed out that more than 3,30,000 Indian students were studying in the U.S., as of 2023-24. Indians made up nearly 30% of the roughly 1.1 million international students in the U.S. that year, the biggest bloc from any country. 

Foreign Secretary meetings

The controversy over the student visas, the latest hiccup to hit India-U.S. relations, came even as Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri ended his three-day visit to Washington. The MEA spokesperson did not confirm whether the pause in visas, or the Trump administration’s latest repetition of claims that the U.S. mediated the India-Pakistan ceasefire using trade as leverage, were issues raised during Mr. Misri’s meetings, particularly his talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.