Update on Student Visas in the Aftermath of 9/11
Posted Nov 29, 2002

As a direct result of the tragic events of September 11^th, 2001, new security-related procedures have been put into place with respect to student visa applications at consulates. We have previously reported on these procedures in MurthyBulletin articles including, DOS Announces Visa Processing Delays, published Sept 06, 2002, Interim Student Authentication System Launched, from Sept 27, 2002, and New Form DS-158 for F, M, J Applicants, from Aug 09, 2002, all available on MurthyDotCom. While there have been changes for other types of visa applicants as well, much of the focus of new security efforts and procedures has been specifically directed toward the student and scholar categories: F-1, M-1, and J-1. This has resulted in a sharp increase in both delays and denials for student visa applicants.

NAFSA, the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA) and the Association of American Universities (AAU) conducted a survey during October 2002 of student visa processing trends, gathering data from 77 colleges and universities around the U.S. The results of that survey confirm the trend that we have observed. Findings of the NAFSA/AAU survey included students who had missed the starting dates of their academic programs, scholars who had missed important conferences and, perhaps most worrisome of all, students who had decided to study in countries other than the U.S.

The loss of students and scholars choosing to study elsewhere has a major potential impact on the U.S. economy. An NAFSA press release from November 18, 2002 notes that foreign students contributed nearly $12 billion to the U.S. economy during the academic year 2001 to 2002. The benefits of foreign students coming to the U.S. go far beyond economics. At a time when the U.S. is in need of friends around the world, the cross-cultural perspective brought by international students and scholars is vital to our national interest.

In a November 14, 2002 press release, NAFSA expressed its support for security measures to screen terrorists, and issued sensible recommendations for making those measures more effective. The recommendations are:

 - First, to conserve resources, it is important for the government to develop targeted methods and criteria to focus on persons who may pose a problem, while enabling others to be processed more quickly.

- Second, students who have already been approved for visas and are studying in the U.S. should be able to revalidate their expiring visas within the U.S. prior to traveling abroad, to avoid delays caused by the necessity to reapply for their visas at consulates. As many readers of the MurthyBulletin are aware, a system exists to reissue certain types of visas within the U.S., if the person has previously been issued a visa in the same category. This procedure is currently available only for H, L, O, P, E or I visas.

- The third recommendation is for the government to provide reliable information on estimated time frames for processing visa applications. NAFTA comments, "The current incomprehensibility and seeming randomness of the visa screening process is harmful to U.S. diplomatic and foreign policy interests and must not become the norm."

- Lastly, those agencies that are tasked to carry out the various security measures must be given the necessary funding. Indeed, consulates have suffered for years from a lack of resources. If they are being asked to do more, then they must be provided with the means. According to NAFTA, "limitations in system capabilities and personnel have resulted in indefinitely suspended decisions on large numbers of visa applications."

We reported last week (Nov 22, 2002) in the MurthyBulletin on the new Homeland Security Department Legislation. The law establishing the new Department is an authorization bill, not an appropriations bill. What that terminology means to those of us outside Washington, D.C. is that the bill establishes the Department but does not allocate funding. Rather, the specific amounts of money that will be spent to carry out the various responsibilities of the new Department will be specified in one or more appropriations (spending) bills. It remains to be seen whether the visa and immigration-related agencies and programs will be adequately funded to ensure that they are effective.