BENGALURU: When Anjali T received her acceptance letter for an MSc in marketing from an American university in February, she thought the hardest parts of the application process were behind her. “I had no idea about what would happen to the Covid scenario in India. I thought once I got through the GRE exam, multiple drafts of application essays and anxious wait for results, the challenges would be over. I did not foresee consulates closing again,” says the 25-year-old, who has not been able to secure a visa for her course, which begins in June. Anjali is one among many aspiring to go abroad whose fate now hangs in the balance. According to Kumkum Dutt, guidance counsellor at Canadian International School, Bangalore, no visa appointments are available for the USA or Canada.
“The United States has allowed students to travel for education, however, the earliest available appointment one student found was February 2022,” says Dutt. What’s worse, adds Anjali, is that students can only check the portal thrice a day or get locked out for 72 hours. “Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night to check. I already quit my job and now I’m afraid of losing a year, which derails the plans I had for my personal life,” she says.
Changing guidelines about the required gap between vaccine doses is also causing confusion. Snehith Solanki, who is pursuing his bachelor’s in business administration at the University of Massachusetts, was hoping to go back on campus for his fourth year in September. Having recently received his first dose of the Covishield vaccine, the 20-year-old is now eligible for the next shot only towards the end of August. “I can book the slot two days prior so I don’t know the exact date. I don’t mind taking just one dose but since Covishield is not available in the USA, I’ll have to figure out what to do then,” he says.
Parents too are concerned, finds Shaista Baljee, MD and founder of Ivy Aspire Education Consulting, who explains, “Parents don’t know which Indian vaccine will be approved and considered by universities.” With visa restrictions, sending the child alone is also worrisome. “There is no doubt that the situation in India is bad and the child might be safer abroad. But parents are scared they might not get a visa in time to accompany the child and help them settle down in a new country, or should the situation get worse, future travel restrictions might make it difficult for them to be with their child again,” she says, adding, “It’s an ever-evolving situation so we just have to wait and see.”