growing number of international students, wary of the complex visa procedures and put off by the elevated scrutiny of foreigners in the United States, are deciding against enrolling in American universities.A recent survey by the Council of Graduate Schools, a Washington-based think-tank, found international graduate applications through February 2004 had decreased by 32 per cent. Ninety per cent of the institutions surveyed reported a drop in such applications.
The survey also found that a large percentage of institutions reported a decline in the number of students coming from India, China, and Taiwan. And a high percentage of institutions reported a decline in foreign student enrollment in courses in engineering and the sciences.
Specifically, 76 per cent of the respondents reported decline from China and 58 per cent from India, the two countries that account for the largest number of foreign students in America.
Undergraduate and graduate programmes have taken a hit since September 11, 2001, according to the American Association of Universities.
In a survey of foreign student advisers, 47 per cent reported a decline in international enrollments (undergraduate and graduate) for Fall 2003, as compared to Fall 2002. The majority of institutions that experienced a decline in 2003 perceived that visa denials and delays were the top factors contributing to the decrease.
At a recent event marking the commencement of the second year of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection Robert C. Bonner, said: “We want to offer a warm welcome and timely, convenient service to the great many foreign exchange and student visitors coming to America this fall.”
The SEVIS programme, he explained, “allows US Customs and Border Protection Officers to determine whether individuals are legitimate students, and to quickly process these students through our ports of entry. Yet, at the same time, we are better able to deny entry to those who would try to illegally gain entry into the United States masking themselves as students.”
Investigations into the September 11 attacks revealed that most of the hijackers had entered the US on student visas.
Defending SEVIS, Michael J. Garcia, assistant secretary for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Department of Homeland Security, said the programme “addresses the need to put integrity back into the immigration system.”
“Violators of our immigration laws, in this case those who abuse this country’s generous programme of welcoming foreign students, will now face enforcement consequences,” he said.
These safeguards come with a steep price tag. Foreign students are now required to pay a “SEVIS fee” of $100 to defray the cost of the programme, as mandated by the US Congress.
The CGS survey studied the effects of “Visas Mantis” — a procedure designed to scrutinise those involved with sensitive technologies. The wait time for a visa interview in such cases is generally two to three weeks but could be longer depending on the time of year. During the 2003 summer months, the wait was as long as 12 weeks in India, and six weeks in China.
As a consequence of these restrictions, the number of Indian students dropped by 19 per cent and there was a 34 per cent decrease in admissions from China.
The sharpest declines in both international applications and admissions were found from China, India, and Korea, respectively.
