<p>New Delhi: India on Thursday said it expects the US to consider visa applications of Indian students on merit amid growing concerns over the Trump administration halting new student visa interviews.</p>.<p>The changes effected by the US in its visa regime have triggered widespread uncertainty among students world-wide including in India.</p>.<p>"We saw some guidance coming from the United States on student visa matters," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.</p>.<p>"There we made a point that while it is a sovereign function, we expect and we hope that application of Indian students will be considered a merit, and they will be able to join their academic programs in the US on time," he said.</p>.<p>Jaiswal said the welfare of Indian students abroad remains of "utmost priority" of the government of India.</p>.<p>"While we note that issuance of visa is a sovereign function, we hope that the application of Indian students will be considered on merit," he said.</p>.<p>There have been concerns among the students planning to pursue studies in the US over the Trump administration's plan to expand social media vetting of student visa applicants.</p>.<p>Jaiswal said about 330,000 Indian students were in the US in 2023-24.</p>.<p>On Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's ongoing visit to the US, Jaiswal said he met Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler to advance India-US cooperation in critical and emerging technologies.</p>.<p>Misri also led a delegation comprising the deputy NSA for the inter-agency discussions on India-US COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology) for the 21st century.</p>.<p>The initiative, aimed at driving transformative change across key pillars of cooperation, was launched following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with President Donald Trump in Washington DC in February.</p>.<p>This meeting focused on implementing the TRUST initiative, which again is about critical minerals and critical and emerging technology partnerships.</p>.<p>"They also discussed cooperation in the area of defence and energy domains, as well as strengthening the Quad, IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor), I2U2 initiatives," Jaiswal said.</p>.<p>The I2U2 is a strategic grouping comprising India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the US.</p>.<p>The foreign secretary also had a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and they discussed all aspects of India-US relationship.</p>.<p>"In particular, they agreed that technology '¦ tech, trade and talent will shape the India-US partnership in the 21st century and they both reaffirmed commitment to further strengthening the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership," Jaiswal said.</p>.<p>All issues of mutual interest were discussed between India and the US, he added. </p>
<p>New Delhi: India on Thursday said it expects the US to consider visa applications of Indian students on merit amid growing concerns over the Trump administration halting new student visa interviews.</p>.<p>The changes effected by the US in its visa regime have triggered widespread uncertainty among students world-wide including in India.</p>.<p>"We saw some guidance coming from the United States on student visa matters," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.</p>.<p>"There we made a point that while it is a sovereign function, we expect and we hope that application of Indian students will be considered a merit, and they will be able to join their academic programs in the US on time," he said.</p>.<p>Jaiswal said the welfare of Indian students abroad remains of "utmost priority" of the government of India.</p>.<p>"While we note that issuance of visa is a sovereign function, we hope that the application of Indian students will be considered on merit," he said.</p>.<p>There have been concerns among the students planning to pursue studies in the US over the Trump administration's plan to expand social media vetting of student visa applicants.</p>.<p>Jaiswal said about 330,000 Indian students were in the US in 2023-24.</p>.<p>On Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's ongoing visit to the US, Jaiswal said he met Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler to advance India-US cooperation in critical and emerging technologies.</p>.<p>Misri also led a delegation comprising the deputy NSA for the inter-agency discussions on India-US COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology) for the 21st century.</p>.<p>The initiative, aimed at driving transformative change across key pillars of cooperation, was launched following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with President Donald Trump in Washington DC in February.</p>.<p>This meeting focused on implementing the TRUST initiative, which again is about critical minerals and critical and emerging technology partnerships.</p>.<p>"They also discussed cooperation in the area of defence and energy domains, as well as strengthening the Quad, IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor), I2U2 initiatives," Jaiswal said.</p>.<p>The I2U2 is a strategic grouping comprising India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the US.</p>.<p>The foreign secretary also had a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and they discussed all aspects of India-US relationship.</p>.<p>"In particular, they agreed that technology '¦ tech, trade and talent will shape the India-US partnership in the 21st century and they both reaffirmed commitment to further strengthening the India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership," Jaiswal said.</p>.<p>All issues of mutual interest were discussed between India and the US, he added. </p>