US F-1 visa rejections soar to 10-yr high, 41% of applications denied
text_fields
San Diego: The United States recorded a sharp surge in F-1 visa denials during the last fiscal year (October 2023 to September 2024), reaching a decade-high rejection rate of 41%. According to an analysis of U.S. State Department data by The Indian Express, this marks a near doubling of the rejection rate compared to the 2014 fiscal year.
During the 2023-24 period, the U.S. received 6.79 lakh F-1 visa applications, of which 2.79 lakh (41%) were denied. This reflects a rise from the previous fiscal year (2022-23) when 2.53 lakh applications (36% of 6.99 lakh total applications) were rejected.
While the U.S. State Department has not disclosed country-specific refusal rates, previous reports indicated that the number of student visas issued to Indian applicants in the first nine months of 2024 dropped by 38% compared to the same period in 2023.
The data further reveals that rejection rates continued to climb even as the absolute number of student visa applications declined over the past decade. The peak for total F-1 visa applications occurred in 2014-15 with 8.56 lakh applications, but the numbers steadily declined, hitting a low of 1.62 lakh in the COVID-19-affected year of 2019-2020. Post-pandemic, applications rebounded but saw a 3% decline in 2023-24 compared to the previous year. The number of F-1 visas issued in 2023-24 stood at 4.01 lakh, down from 4.45 lakh in 2022-23.
The F-1 visa is a non-immigrant student visa category for individuals attending academic institutions in the U.S., whereas the M-1 visa applies to vocational and non-academic programs. The Indian Express analysis focused on F-1 visas, which comprise over 90% of U.S. student visas issued annually.
In response to the rising rejection rate, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson stated, “All visa adjudications are conducted on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and applicable federal regulations.” The department did not provide further insight into the reasons behind the increase in denials.
The spokesperson also pointed to a change in methodology for calculating visa statistics from FY2019 onwards, explaining that previous counts were based on workload actions rather than linked applications. The revised approach more accurately reflects final visa outcomes, incorporating updates to application statuses throughout the fiscal year.
Country-specific F-1 visa refusal data remains unavailable, but earlier reports by The Indian Express noted that 64,008 student visas were issued to Indian applicants from January to September 2024, compared to 1.03 lakh in the same period in 2023. Updated figures on the U.S. State Department website slightly adjusted this total to 63,973 for the nine months. By contrast, the corresponding figures for previous years were 65,235 in 2021 and 93,181 in 2022.
Indian students represent a significant proportion of international students in the U.S. According to the Open Doors 2024 report, Indian students became the largest international student group in the U.S. in 2023-24, surpassing Chinese students and accounting for 29.4% of the international student population. The total number of Indian students reached 3.31 lakh in 2023-24, the highest recorded figure for this group.
The spike in F-1 visa denials coincides with efforts by other nations to impose restrictions on international student admissions. In 2024, Canada announced a cap on study permits, reducing them by 35% compared to 2023 due to concerns over housing, healthcare, and other services. Further reductions of 10% in study permits are set for 2025.
Similarly, the UK, where Indians form the second-largest group of international students, has introduced restrictions preventing foreign students from bringing dependents. These measures have led to a decline of up to 40% in international student enrollments across British universities.