MUMBAI: If some US-bound students are struggling for
visas
, parents of some others who are all set to join college this fall (July and August) are leaving no stone unturned to be able to see off their children on campus, even if it means spending a month abroad or travelling round half the world.
On May 1, the US suspended entry by non-immigrants who had been in India in the preceding 14 days. Students wanting to enter or return to the US were exempted.
Washington
also kept its doors open for ‘persons of national importance’. It wasn’t long before desperate parents started applying for visas under the category.
“A well-known builder, whose child will join the
University of Southern California
this August, has decided to take a chartered flight to Dubai and after spending a fortnight there, the family will enter the US to drop the student at his university in
Los Angeles
,” said study abroad counsellor
Karan Gupta
. “Some parents who have businesses in Dubai are staying put there and heading to the US from there,” said another counsellor Sonal Parekh.
The trend of dropping off their children is very popular, especially among the parents of the thousands of undergraduate teens who head out every year. “There was a lot of heartburn when the US Consulate’s India office clarified that parents, even those holding US visas, could not travel with their children,” said
Gupta
.
And creative travel plans emerged. If some are chartering flights, the budget-conscious could fly commercial to countries that are allowing Indians in and are simultaneously on the accepted list for the US. Several parents from the UK will route their trip to the US via Egypt. Some are planning to fly to Russia and from there to America. The US Consulate here has advised against booking flights with a stop in Europe as they have strict quarantine policies.
“Parents are already stressed that in case of any emergency, they will not be able to enter the US till the travel ban is eased. Those like me, who hold valid US visas, feel the need to be with our wards to complete airport formalities, to navigate the new city, and reach the campus, set up their housing,” explained a parent.
For students, the visa stress continued for a second day. After Monday’s fiasco, students applying for a visa
appointment
struggled to register on the US Consulate portal on Tuesday too. Many opted for the dial-in service to get an appointment. “After holding on for over an hour, I was told I could try logging into the appointment portal after 30 minutes,” said a frustrated candidate.
The US Consulate sought to calm nerves with a statement on social media: “Since June 14, thousands of students have secured visa appointments for July and August. Thousands of appointments will remain available and we will open thousands more in coming weeks. We appreciate your patience as we diligently work to resolve the technical issues you have encountered.”
Not many took this at face value. “Yesterday was complete chaos. The site was down almost the entire day. How were thousands of students able to secure appointments?” asked a candidate. Social media was also full of pleas by students to unlock their visa application accounts that were frozen on Monday for too many tries.