Facts revealed that the United states will have issued more student visas to Nigeria and Ghana than other African countries in 2022, a recent report has shown.
According to data from the US Department of State, Canadian educational company https://www.applyboard.com/. ApplyBoard reported that a record number of African students were granted F1 visas in 2022.
The Canadian educational company, revealed that in 2022, a higher number of African students pursuing academic programs or seeking full-time degrees at US institutions were awarded F1 visas than ever before. This information was based on data provided by the US Department of State.
“Nigeria and Ghana will be particularly interesting to watch over the next couple of years — both were issued the most student visas in their histories in 2022,” the report said.
“As the US grows in popularity among African and Indian students, the short-term trade-off may be slightly lower approval rates. But the long-term benefits could help fast-track the recovery of the US international education sector.”
The Voice of America reports that the number of visas issued to students from Africa in 2022 surpassed 30,700 — an increase from 23,229 recorded in the 2021 fiscal year.
The data further indicated that in 2018, the highest number of visas issued to students from Africa was recorded at 21,037. The US issued 20,165 student visas to Africa in 2019 while the figure dropped to 7,333 in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Over 411,000 student visas were issued by the US in 2022, a 15 per cent increase from that of 2021 which had 357,839. The 2022 figure is estimated to be the highest number of student visas recorded globally since 2017.
In spite of the hike, the US visa approval rates dropped to 65 per cent amid the rising volume of applications.
The country is projected to displace China as the country with the most international students in the US in the coming years.
The education company also added that the US is still behind the UK and Canada — which are highly sought after by Nigerians in terms of student visas issued in 2022.
“It’s worth noting, however, that we continue to see higher growth trajectories from competing destination markets. Canada issued over 420,000 student visas in 2022, a 27% increase over 2021,” the report said.
“In the UK, annual growth was 34% in the year ending March 2023.” This is the only line that attempts to draw that comparison in the report.”
