U.S. ambassador to India David C. Mulford. (Photo, as it appears on usembassy.state.gov)

Washington : The growth of Indian student population in the U.S. has been phenomenal –– doubling in just five years, says American ambassador to India David C. Mulford.

He quoted the Institute of International Education (IIE), a prestigious independent non-profit organization, to say that for the second straight year more students from India are on U.S. campuses than from any other country –– 74,603 in the academic year 2002-2003.

“Educational Advising Centers under the U.S. Educational Foundation in India (USEFI) report record numbers of inquiries from Indians for future applications to American schools. For the second straight year, the USEFI offices in eight Indian cities received over 320,000 inquiries,” Mulford said in a statement.

Some observers, however, have recently created the perception that it has become more difficult for students to get visas to study in the U.S., it said, adding that a closer scrutiny of the issue reveals a very different picture.

“On the one hand, the United States recognizes that to remain competitive it must do what is necessary to attract the best and the brightest. At the same time, the 9/11 attack made it clear that changes governing entry to and exit from the U.S. were necessary. To balance these issues, the U.S. invested heavily in technology and people to enhance two key objectives: keeping Americaand ensuring more secure borders. Secretary of State Powell summed it up best when he said our motto is ‘Secure Borders,Doors’,” the statement said.

“As we implement important measures to make our borders and the traveling public more secure, it is important to point out that these steps have not changed the criteria for issuing visas to visit or study in the United States,” Mulford said, adding that today more Indians travel to the United States than ever before.

This year the U.S. Embassy and Consulates issued 12 percent more visas than over the same period in each of the last two years. Moreover, the visa issuance rate for India is higher today than before 9/11, the ambassador said.

He said the U.S. is carrying more improvements to ensure that long waits are a thing of the past, and further decreases are likely as the U.S. introduces more automated systems. Students in certain science fields may face an additional verification step, but this procedure affects only a handful of Indian applicants.

Each year the embassy makes a special effort to ensure all students are interviewed in time to make their first day of school, and this year will be no exception, the ambassador said.

He said these improvements result from a colossal investment in manpower, technology, facilities and new procedures.