ATA to Collabotate with US Consul General’s Office in Hyderabad

July 28 :
ATA President Jayanth Challa recently met with Mrs. Laura Williams, the incoming U.S. Consul General in Hyderabad. Ms. Williams, who is currently with the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., will succeed Jennifer Larson, the current Consul General of Hyderabad, whose term is soon coming to an end.

Mr. Challa, along with several members of the ATA business group, met with Ms. Larson at a luncheon organized by the Indian American Business Impact group, coordinated by Ravi Puli. The discussions covered various topics, including issues important to both the Indo-American and Telugu communities, as well as potential collaborative measures to further strengthen the U.S.-India/Telugu relationship. Topics also included addressing student concerns and enhancing business-to-business connections.

In a separate lunch meeting with Ms. Williams and two former U.S. diplomats, Kathy Hadda and Vinai Thummalapally, Mr. Challa explained the services offered by the ATA to the Telugu American community. They discussed the possibility of providing orientation sessions for students preparing to leave for universities in the U.S. The Hyderabad consulate is the largest one in Asia and processes more student visas than any other in the world. The idea of doing an orientation is to mitigate misinformation.