There's good news for those of you who plan to study in the United States of America; getting that much-needed visa might just become easier.

Thomas Farrell, an international education expert from the US department of state, unveiled the good news in Mumbai earlier this week.

"Currently, it takes a month to process an international visa... we have plans to bring this down to 10 days soon. Ultimately, we'd like to meet the international standard of two days," he said.

Farrell is in India as part of an eight person delegation from the United States. The purpose of the delegation is to strengthen ties between the academic and business communities of both countries in the hope of forging a more intimate partnership regarding higher education.

Farrell admitted that tight security following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America had caused the visa application process to slow down, but that the US was committed to opening its doors even wider for international students, particularly those from India.

He lamented that India lags far behind other countries as a destination for American students seeking to study internationally. Farrell speculated that, while there are "only 1,800 American students in India currently, India has the capacity for a much greater number."

When pressed on the issue, he frankly asserted, "India does not do enough to market its top level universities and higher education. China's universities and the Chinese government do a good job of presenting their universities as viable options to American students."

Finally, when asked if Bill Gates' lambasting of the H1B visa programme would impact legislation (Gates recently urged the US government to encourage foreign workers to stay in the US after graduation, and to ease the H1B visa requirements), Farrell felt the current policy should not be altered.

He said, "We want to train Indian students at our top universities, but with the understanding that they will return to India when their studies conclude. We have a way of thinking, when the tide is high, all boats are raised. What's good for India is good for America, and vice versa."

While his message was essentially positive and demonstrated the American government's commitment to attracting Indian students, the ambiguity regarding H1B visas should still be seen as a cause for alarm.

For now, it looks like America desires Indian students and Indian talent, but only long enough for them to study and do research; ultimately, these students will have to come home or face the daunting task of successfully navigating the current H1B format.