Two
Students Denied Visas
By
Greg Walters
Two international students from Pakistan and China
admitted to Oberlin’s freshman class for this academic year
have been unable to obtain student visas to the United States and
have been given no notification of how long they will have to wait
in their own countries. Three others, from India, Venezuela and
China, were also waylaid by the visa process but are set to arrive
soon, according to Assistant Dean of Studies Ellen Sayles.
Although Oberlin has had trouble getting visas to students in the
past, administrators said this year is exceptional both in the number
of students waylaid and the difficulty in fixing the problem. The
source of the trouble, President Nancy Dye said, may lie somewhere
in the American government’s reaction to Sept. 11.
“It’s disturbing, frankly,” Dye said. “It
does indicate that there are real shifts. We certainly from time
to time have had students who’ve had difficulties with their
consulate or something, but mostly those issues have been with continuing
students. They’d have a problem, we’d write a letter
to the American consulate there, and that was that.”
This year, such efforts have proved less effective.
“We’ve already faxed and sent letters to the American
Embassies in their countries,” Sayles said. “I’ve
faxed many, many letters to various places, and sent e-mails. Finally
we changed the date when they’re allowed to come to campus.
Now they’re allowed to enroll until the end of the add/drop
period, in case things loosen up and they’re permitted to
come to America. One of these students has already decided to defer
until next semester.”
The Immigration and Natural-ization Service, and especially its
student visa policy, came under intense criticism when two of the
Sept. 11 hijackers were issued student visas a full six months after
their deaths.
According to a Sept. 10 New York Times article, the Bush administration
has discretely introduced a new immigration policy for males between
the ages of 16 and 45 from a list of 26 countries, mostly in the
Mideast but including such Muslim majority states as Pakistan, Malaysia
and Indonesia.
Before Sept. 11, most consular offices and embassies could issue
visas after a routine check. Now, officials in Washington must approve
visas both for men from these countries and men with relatives from
these countries. Originally the policy was meant to extend the visa
application process by 30 days. But with a backlog of over 100,000
visa applications — mostly from students and businessmen —
the paperwork has piled up and the wait has become indefinite, according
to the Times.
Neither the INS nor the Department of Justice could be reached for
comment.
|