International students struggle to acquire visas
Marshall University’s INTO program has seen a decline of about 50 students since fall 2018.
Language barriers, culture shock, homesickness and financial issues are some of the difficulties that international students have to face when they study abroad, but there is another issue that international students may face before other difficulties can occur: getting a visa to the U.S.
For many overseas students, getting a U.S. visa can be more difficult than getting accepted into one school or university.
Sarah Davis, assistant director of enrollment services at INTO Marshall, said the number of students that are admitted to Marshall University is the same or higher compared to previous years, but the students do have trouble getting a visa.
“You cannot say for sure it’s all because the political climate, but sure it is,” Davis said. “Students are admitting to Marshall, they want to come to Marshall from all around the world, and they go for their visa interview and they get denied. Compared to last Fall with about 200 students, this Fall 2019 semester, INTO Marshall has about 150 students. We did see a decline.”
Unexpected denials and a long delay process have become more and more common for overseas students and scholars seeking visas.
Trang Nguyen, a graduate student from Vietnam, said she was denied a visa twice before she could finally get it and had a chance to study at Marshall.
“I was so disappointed and thought I could never have a chance to study in the U.S.,” Nguyen said. “At the third interview, I told them I just simply want to study in the U.S., why can’t I have that chance?”
That is just one of the cases where an international student was rejected a visa.
One of the most common reasons students get rejected is when the student does not have strong enough ties to his or her home country to show that they will come back after graduating.
One factor that can possibly affect the overall enrollment of international students is the 2017 travel ban that President Donald Trump placed on mostly Muslim-majority nations that led to a drop in the number of foreign students coming to the U.S. in recent years.
“There was one student from Syria that studied at Marshall University, he couldn’t really go home because he was afraid that he couldn’t get back to study. In addition, we don’t really get a lot of students from that list,” Davis said.
Fareed Tariq Butt, a graduate student from Pakistan, said it was getting more difficult for students from Pakistan to obtain a U.S. visa, and some of them had visas for four months only and they had to go back to Pakistan to extend visas.
“A lot of students do not get an admission to University in Pakistan because they wait for their visa process and when they get rejections from the U.S. embassy, they waste one semester for nothing,” Butt said.
Phuong Anh Do can be contacted at [email protected].
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lance johnson • Sep 4, 2019 at 8:57 pm
Sadly, Trump’s contentious issue is yet one more thing that makes being an international student away from home difficult, compounded by our complex culture and language problems. Welcoming and assimilation assistance must come from numerous sources, including the White House, to aid these young people embarking on life’s journey.
Most struggle in their efforts and need guidance from schools’ international departments, immigration protection, host families, concerned neighbors and fellow students, and even informative books to extend a cultural helping hand.
Something that might help anyone coming to the US is the award-winning worldwide book/ebook “What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A To Z: How to Understand Crazy American Culture, People, Government, Business, Language and More.”
Used in foreign Fulbright student programs and endorsed worldwide by ambassadors, educators, and editors, it identifies how “foreigners” have become successful in the US, including students.
It explains how to cope with a confusing new culture and friendship process, and daunting classroom differences. It explains how US businesses operate and how to get a job (which differs from most countries), a must for those who want to work with/for an American firm here or overseas.
It also identifies the most common English grammar and speech problems foreigners have and tips for easily overcoming them, the number one stumbling block they say they have to succeeding here.
Good luck to all at Marshall or wherever you study or wherever you come from, because that is the TRUE spirit of the American PEOPLE, not a few in government who shout the loudest! Supporters of int’l students must shout louder.