International Education Week and the Student Visa Landscape

Each year, in mid-November, the Institute of International Education, funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, releases the Open Doors Report.  There will be some fairly eye-catching numbers released next Monday, November 15 at the National Press Club in Washington DC.  Open Doors represents a look back at the previous academic year, in this case 2009-10, for its survey of international student numbers.  

What will perhaps be a surprise to many U.S. higher education colleagues, and would certainly be to the general public, and, more importantly, to student audiences abroad, are some remarks made by Assistant Secretary Janice Jacobs with the Bureau of Consular Affairs.  A/S Jacobs' Bureau oversees the various U.S. consular officers at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide that conduct all visa interviews.  

Here's a snippet of a recent statement Assistant Secretary Jacobs made related to International Education Week:

"Our consular sections overseas also work actively to promote study and exchange programs, to demystify the visa application process, and to encourage students to consider educational possibilities in the United States. Foreign students can now apply for their visas 120 days before their U.S. studies begin. At our embassies and consulates around the world, we assign a high priority to student visa appointments, resulting in reduced wait times, shorter lines, and faster issuance of visas. We issued over 450,000 student visas in the last fiscal year, which accounts for 82 percent of the student visa applicants worldwide. That’s an increase of 13 percent from the previous year and exceeds the number of student visas we were issuing immediately before the September 11 attack."

Three key points I believe are critical to know for U.S. college and university representatives working with prospective international students:

1. Students can now apply for their visas 120 days before their U.S. studies begin. 
2. Worldwide last year, 82% of all student visa applicants were approved! 
3. The number of approvals was 13% higher than FY09,  higher than pre-9/11 levels.

Those who have been working in international admissions for any length of time will have stories of admitted students who were denied visas, and having been on that side of the desk for years, it was a constant struggle to advocate for our students.  Post-9/11, many of us had to work even harder to make the case for students. Those bad old days (and yes, they were bad) are becoming a memory now.  The facts are certainly baring out the changes on the ground.  

The key is understanding the public relations battle to overcome the bad visa experiences of certain students, and the resulting public perceptions in a number of countries is not won easily.  It will take a concerted effort by every embassy & consulate, our EducationUSA advisers, your current international students, and each of you to help spread the word that the visa process while fairly intense, is not a bridge too far for students. 

While we would like to see the approval percentage continue to grow, and while we know we'll continue to have stories of students who experience difficulties in the process, please know that if your prospective students are working with our EducationUSA Advising Centers, they will be much better prepared and informed about that visa process before having that brief interview with a consular officer.  While our advisers can't guarantee every student that walks through their doors, you will likely find the approval rates for EducationUSA-advised students significantly higher than the averages in the most difficult countries.  

Please join us in getting the good news out to your prospective students.  There is hope!