NEW DELHI: The American embassy in India reminded student visa-holders on Wednesday that “a US visa is a privilege, not a right” and “breaking laws can have serious consequences” such as never being able to enter the country again.”If you are arrested or violate any laws, your visa may be revoked, you may be deported, and you could be ineligible for future US visas. Follow the rules and don’t jeopardise your travel,” the embassy posted on its official X handle. The cautionary note comes on the heels of a similar warning to applicants for H1B and H4 work visas that violation of US immigration laws could lead to significant criminal penalties. Some of the changes made last year include mandating that all non-immigrant visa (NIV) applicants, including those under 14 and over 79, “will generally require an in-person interview with a consular officer”, barring a few exceptions. The exceptions include “applicants renewing a full validity B-1, B-2, B1/B2 visa within 12 months of the prior visa’s expiration, and who were at least 18 years old at the time of the prior visa’s issuance”.The Donald Trump administration ruled last year that applicants for NIV would need to schedule their interview appointments in their country of citizenship or legal residency, except for places where it isn’t conducting routine NIV operations. This means Indians requiring to travel to the US at short notice will no longer be able to book a quick B1 (business) or B2 (tourist) appointment date abroad, unlike during the post-pandemic rush, when the wait here was as long as three years due to a massive backlog in clearing applications.
