U.S. Consulate Hyderabad denies reports of new visa center in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: After several reports came about a new U.S. Visa Application Centers setting up in Andhra Pradesh, the U.S. Consulate General in Hyderabad issued a clarification on ‘X,’ previously known as Twitter on November 22, 2024.

By taking to ‘X,’, the U.S. Consulate General in Hyderabad said, “It is aware that recent reports are falsely claiming that new U.S. Visa Application Centers are being established in Andhra Pradesh.”

Their post further read as, “Our Consulate is always looking for ways to better facilitate travel to the United States from our region. We do not, however, have announcements to share with you on the building or opening of new VAC centers in our region.”

India currently has five Visa Application Centers (VACs) located in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi.

The recent reports about a potential new VAC in Andhra Pradesh originated from data shared by the U.S. Consulate in Hyderabad, which showed that nearly 56% of Indian students traveling to the United States last year were from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Of this, 34% were from Telangana and 22% from Andhra Pradesh.

During their visit to Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Officers Rebekah Drame and Alexander McLaren presented these figures, highlighting a 300% increase in U.S. student enrollments from India over the past year.