Borders or Barriers?

››› TCB: When students are having difficulty with visas and so forth, what can your university's staff do to help them?

››› Keeling: There isn’t a lot we can do to assist a student who is having difficulty. We do have the ability to inquire with the consulate as to the exact reason a student was denied a visa. They are obligated to answer this type of inquiry from an institution or U.S. sponsor. Oftentimes, we receive more complete information about why a student has been denied a visa than the student does (or so the students tell us), and we can communicate this information to them so that they can be more prepared for a subsequent visa interview. Beyond that, there isn’t a lot an institution can do to intervene in the process as far as I know. We have, on occasion, written letters of support to consular officials, but these have had little or no bearing on the visa decision.

››› Hellerud: While the school can’t speed up the visa process itself, there are things a school can do on its end to make the application process run quickly and smoothly for international students. For example, while applying online is as popular overseas as it is here, students from African countries and the former Soviet republics, for example, are more likely to be using a computer at an Internet café or in an education center than in their home. For them, it is helpful to have a plain-text version of the application (to avoid the time needed to download pictures and forms). It is also helpful to make it clear when e-mail questions will be answered—because applicants will then know when to come back and check again. Also, it can help to address the ‘What if I’m delayed?’ question up front by explaining the deferral process and clearly publishing start dates. Students may be focused on one date or deadline—for example, the September 1 start of fall semester. Students who have the idea that school starts in the U.S. in the fall might not know they could start in the spring or in the summer—hearing ‘If you don’t make it by date X, we can defer your start date to five months from now’ at least gives them a good plan B.

››› Hanson: There isn’t a lot that we can do for students if they are having difficulty. We have written letters for the student to bring to the embassy indicating the importance of the student’s presence on our campus; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I have also gone to a U.S. Senator for assistance, but the consular officer at that particular embassy has the final decision, and not even the supervisor or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice can override that decision.

››› TCB: Has the U.S. government done anything to ease restrictions on incoming international students?

››› Keeling: It does appear . . . from anecdotal information that it was easier to obtain a student visa from certain countries (China, for example) this year than it has been in the past, but I don’t know if this is due to any specific easing of restrictions. It could be that the students have become more informed about what will be expected in their visa interview and are more prepared, so they aren’t declined due to a small oversight on their part. Or, it could be that we are seeing more applications approved because we are providing more institutional funding than we have in the past, which makes it easier for students from certain countries to obtain student visas.