The US order of July 7 stating that F1 visas will not be renewed for students if they are attending only online- lectures in the US is a concerning mater for India since the highest number of foreign students in the US are from India. The US government has announced those F-1 and M-1 (non-academic and vocational students) visa holders attending only online classes will not be allowed to remain in the US.

India on Thursday said it has reported its concerns to the US govt about the new rule on F1 visa and urged to keep in mind the role education have played in the developing relationship between the two countries.

The concerns were expressed during the virtual foreign office consultations between Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and US political affairs secretary David Hale on Tuesday. Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that the US government has looked into the concern regarding the new rule.

During virtual meeting, Srivastava said that India is concerned about the possibility of the return of a large number of Indian students studying in the US due to new rules in visa.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday said that the foreign students pursuing courses in the US must return to their country if their institutes are conducting only online course due to covid-19 pandemic.