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TRUMP ADMINISTRATION POLICY MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS TO GET US STUDY VISA

VISA APPLICATIONS SUFFER ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING DELAYS AFTER EXTENSION OF PROCESSING PERIOD

US STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS EXTENDED VISA CHECK DUE TO HEIGHTENED NATIONAL SECURITY CONSCIOUSNESS.

THE NUMBER OF ISSUED VISA IN RECENT YEARS HAS REDUCED DRASTICALLY THOUGH MORE THAN ONE MILLION INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS STUDY IN THE US CURRENTLY.

International students and scholars seeking visas are currently experiencing unexpected denials and long delays under Trump Administration Policy, raising concerns about ethnic diversity in colleges and dashing hopes for students who have been preparing to undertake a course of study in United States of America.

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Officials in universities say that there has been increase in the number of visas going through extended security checks under the Trump administration as the US government continues to crack down on international students who overstay their visas, meting out harsher penalties on violators. Again, processing fees for international students and scholars visas have risen abruptly and international students and scholars who apply for internships and jobs have limited career chance opportunities.

A spokesperson for the State Department gave a counter claim saying that international students were a priority in visa processing application and the increase in scrutiny is applied in case of national security alert.

A school official said that visa applications for international students are facing bottlenecks at many points along the way from the consular office in the student’s home country to border protection and immigration office scrutiny.

Two out of six Ethiopian female students were denied visa disappointingly this year after they had been offered admission at Cottey College, Nevada for the reason that The US State Department believed they will not return to the home country after their studies for lack of sufficient strong ties with the home country. This was revealed on Wednesday by Megan Corrigan, international education coordinator for the college.

Ismail Ajjawi, a Palestinian student who lives in Tyre, Lebanon and was due to start as a freshman at Harvard University, was denied entry to US due to unsatisfactory activities of his social media friends.

Chinese and Indian students who are the majority of international students in the United States also suffer from administrative processing delays. , the number of Chinese students studying in America has quadrupled in the past ten years, rising to 360,000 last year, more than the next seven countries put together.

One university official said that more than 160 cases suffered from the same fate of security and administrative processing delays as a result of heightened sensitive visa check.

The US State Department extended the time for administrative processing from 60 to 180 days in February making difficult for students to get a visa in time to be enrolled in a programme.