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John E. Burris, president of Beloit College.
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International Students Face Trouble With Visas in Post-Sept. 11 America
By Samantha Kiyomi Witt
Special to AsianWeek
Beloit College, a small liberal arts school in Wisconsin, suffered a financial set back this school year due to the denial of F-1 student visas for five international students from China, India and Russia. What may seem like a minute handful of students at Beloit College translates to extensive numbers at universities throughout the United States.
Ron Nief, director of public affairs at Beloit College commented, “International students … are an important part of this small college, with more than 50 countries represented. As opposed to ten years of no problems, this year we have five students that have been rejected one or more times and that we are working to get cleared.”
To obtain an F-1 visa to study in the U.S., a student must first be accepted into an accredited college or university. Through an interview at the United States Consulate office in the student’s home country, the student must then prove sufficiency in three categories — completion of a course of study equivalent to that of an American student, adequate funds to cover expenses and the intention to depart from the United States upon completion of their education.
The reason constantly cited for denial of an F-1 visa is failure of the student to submit compelling evidence of intent to return to their country of origin. In response to repeated denials based on “intent,” John E. Burris, president of Beloit College, stated in a letter of concern to Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold that the “criterion of intent is the one which seems to be most arbitrarily applied this year given the political climate in the aftermath of Sept. 11.”
Similar cases have crossed the desks of administrators at Minnesota State University. Kay Thomas, director of International Student and Scholar Services commented that there isn’t much MSU can do when it’s a question of national security.
Jay Ward, coordinator of International Programs at San Francisco State University, has seen about eight cases of visa denial this year. He is approaching the problem by encouraging international students to contact their embassy early, as well as working with the faculty to expedite early admission notification.
The denial of visas from specific countries is also having effects on certain fields of study, especially in technical schools. Ward expressed concern that Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were confronting denials and delays with the many international students accepted and currently enrolled in their specialized programs.
According to the International Institute of Education, the top four countries of origin for international students in the United States are China, Japan, Korea and India respectively with the top four fields of study being health sciences, life and biological sciences, physical sciences and engineering. Stanford University in particular has noticed a delay for students entering medical and technical discipline programs.
MIT has been facing similar problems, especially with returning students. According to Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook, Associate Dean and Director of the International Students Office at MIT, her office is now required to submit biographical data of students who are abroad and need to request a visa to return to school to the U.S. State Department. This is in compliance with a new interim tracking system for international students and their dependents called Interim Student and Exchange Authentication System. This system is one of many programs implemented over the past year to beef up national security issues with immigration.
Many communities have experienced a backlash of anti-immigrant hysteria in the wake of Sept. 11. The Immigration and Naturalization Service implemented a program on Oct. 1 of this year called the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System. The system will enforce registration and fingerprinting requirements as well as exit controls for nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria as well as of “non-immigrant aliens whom the State Department determines to present an elevated national security risk, based on criteria reflecting current intelligence.”
Attorney General John Ashcroft announced, “The vulnerabilities of our immigration system became starkly clear on Sept. 11. This system will expand substantially America’s scrutiny of those foreign visitors who may present an elevated national security risk. And it will provide a vital line of defense in the war against terrorism.”
During a daily press briefing in November of last year, Richard Boucher, spokesman for the U.S. State Department, justified targeting particular groups or individuals with scrutinized visa screening by stating, “We are still trying to bring people to the United States as smoothly and efficiently as possible, consistent with our standards of safety for Americans and for people who come and live in America. It wouldn’t be fair to all visa applicants to slow down processing for all applicants if our primary concerns are only about certain individuals or groups.”
Beloit College recognizes the problems that these new security programs present to scholars around the world, as well as the damage they inflict upon our image as Americans.
Beloit president Burris stated, “Foreign students who have lived in the United States and who have been educated here are one of the most effective means for this country to highlight its quality of life and education … and its principals which can provide magnificent opportunities not only for our own citizens, but for all peoples of this world. September 11 should not be a call for retrenchment out of fear, but rather a call for outreach in the full confidence of who we are, and what we have been, as a nation. The truer we are to our image as the land of opportunity for people of all backgrounds, the clearer the rest of the world will see us in that light.”
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