After waiting at the crowded U.S. Embassy in Mexico for fivehours, Maia Ore was tired and annoyed. When she finally got herchance to speak to the U.S. Consulate, the international studentwho has been in the United States for four years, was told she nowhad to provide the name of a contact family with whom she couldstay in an emergency, like Sept. 11. Any international studentwithout a host family to stay with can be deported.
After Sept. 11, the United States heightened security to preventterrorist attacks from happening again. U.S. citizens witnessed thearrival of terror alert levels and heightened airport security. Forthose beyond U.S. borders, things might have looked a littledifferent.
International students applying for student visas post Sept. 11have learned to face a completely different aspect of increasedinternational security, one of increased difficulty in obtaining astudent visa to study in the United States.
While the new, more stringent laws are put in place for publicsafety, the laws could have serious effects on a new generation offoreign students, the countries they come from, the U.S. job marketand universities across the country.
One of SMU’s strategic goals this year is to foster goodrelations between international and domestic students on campus,Michael Clarke, director of International Students at SMU, said.SMU plans to do this is by making the international recruitmentprocess easier by providing detailed information on the visaprocess. They also plan to emphasize SMU study abroad programs withinformation sessions and integrating international culture into theGeneral Education Curriculum.
“To encourage understanding, we have to encouragemobility,” Clarke said.
This may be difficult with the challenges presented tointernational students as they apply for visas.
SMU provides help to international students applying for visas.First, students must apply like everyone else. After that, thestudent must show evidence that they or a sponsor have the funds topay for tuition, room and board, meals and enough money to go backhome a few times a year. At SMU, this adds up to about $35,000 peryear.
Only then does SMU give an international student the necessaryI-20 form to go to the U.S. Consulate and start the student visaapplication process.
In the past, international students could mail in their visaapplication. After Sept.11, however, students must complete a briefinterview with a U.S. Consulate in their country. Students fromsome Middle Eastern countries, like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan,require background checks in Washington, D.C. before they can beissued a student visa.
Claudia Evelyn Hernandez, SMU International Office immigrationspecialist, has noticed a change. Hernandez aids students in thevisa process and maintains relations with U.S. consulates indifferent countries.
“I haven’t seen any students from those MiddleEastern countries at SMU this semester.” she said.
“I didn’t have any problems with the visaprocess,” graduate student Antony John said. John, aninternational student from Bombay, India, chose to attend SMUbecause the graduate programs for his major, computer engineering,are very difficult to get into in India.
“One of my friends was rejected twice at the AmericanEmbassy.” John said. “They don’t tell youwhy.”
John said his friend, who is also from Bombay, is still applyingbut has been unsuccessful at obtaining a visa.
Due to complications with the visa process, many Middle Easternstudents have turned to Canada and England for higher education,Clarke said.
“The parents feel that their sons and daughters will notbe welcome, so they are not encouraged to apply.” Clarkesaid.
The 2001/2002 Open Doors Report on International Exchange showeda total of 582,996 international students studying in the UnitedStates.
The survey reported that despite declines in enrollment fromstudents from certain Middle Eastern countries, the overall numbersof international students in the United States were likely toremain steady in 2002.
“It is possible that in a couple of years we could see adecline in the number of international students,” CliffThompson, an SMU data coordinator and international student advisersaid, “But it is still early in terms of any long termimpact.”
The long-term effects of a decrease in enrollment of MiddleEastern students could lessen the ethnic diversity of universitiesacross the United States. While it may be too early to tell theeffect that these new rules have had on the job market in theUnited States, or if the countries these students come from havesuffered from less students returning home with new knowledge, moststudents agree that they harbor no ill will towards the UnitedStates or the process.
“A lot of people look at the process in an objectiveway,” Murugan Nambiar, an engineering graduate student fromBombay said. He admits that he knows many people who have beenrejected but do not see the United States as the problem.
“The process just needs to be streamlined,” hesaid.
