The F1 Visa Dilemma
The concept of “international students” exists due to the fact that in today’s globalized world, students from one country are able to pursue an education in a foreign country for the purposes of cultural enrichment, increased opportunities, and transnational cooperation. In a 2006 study, economist Mark Rosenzweig provided strong empirical support for the idea that international students view an American education as a gateway to permanent U.S. employment. In fact, the United States is arguably one of the most popular destinations for students studying abroad; in an article in the publication GeoJournal, author Heike Alberts reported that in order to compete with the Soviet Union in the 1950s, the United States “began to actively recruit scientists from overseas...Since then, the United States has been strongly committed to attracting foreign talent, including international students”.
However, in recent years, there has been a decline in the U.S. market share of enrolled international students resulting from visa delays, foreign policy, as well as attitudes towards America’s safety and hospitality. In fact, data from the State Department shows a decline of 595,569 F1 visas issued in 2014 to only 362,929 issued in 2018; this is an almost 40 percent decrease in the number of student visas issued by the U.S. in the span of four years. In addition, the State Department extended the time for administrative processing of student visas from 60 to 180 days in February 2019, making it harder for admitted international students to enroll by the usual September deadline. It is clear that under the current administration, international students are facing a harder time coming to and staying in the country.
Historically, there have been periods of decline in the number of foreign students migration to the U.S. For example, many scholars attribute complications with visa issuance to periods of national turmoil, such as the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. As a response to the increased difficulty with obtaining visas following September 11th, the Linguistic Society of America published a statement in 2004 that read “the undersigned American organizations of higher education, science, and engineering...strongly support the federal government’s efforts to establish new visa policies and procedures to bolster security; however, we believe that some of the new procedures and policies, along with a lack of insufficient resources, have made the visa issuance process inefficient, lengthy, and opaque”.
Consequently, the only thing that is clear is the fact that the issues of global student migration and national security are inextricably and paradoxically linked. On the one hand, facilitating the immigration of foreign students bolsters the economy by filling jobs with qualified individuals and propels the landscape of innovation with meaningful research and transnational collaboration. On the other hand, the current administration has made it clear that national security and economic recovery are among its top priorities, forcing foreign policy and border control decisions to have an indirect consequence on the immigration of international students. For example, consider how the recent trade war with China has influenced Chinese international students’ attitudes, who make up the largest population of students studying abroad. In an article for The New York Times, Erica Green reported that “as trade tensions escalate with Washington, Beijing warned Chinese students this month of visa restrictions and delays in the United States.” This is an example of how world politics can indirectly affect prospective international students’ attitudes towards their host country, forcing them to ask themselves the question, “Am I welcomed in this country?”
The America of today looks quite different from the America of seventy years ago. Today, our country can at times appear unwelcoming and antagonistic towards the very same people that contributed their life to the building of this great nation, the very same people who the International Students Advisory Board seek to serve. Therefore, I want to express my continued support for the international student community and extend my deepest welcomes to anyone who hopes to come to the U.S. for a chance to educate and better themselves. I can also offer the idea that students should exist as a uniquely neutral actor in this drama we call world politics. Following the objective attitudes of Science, a student should dedicate themselves to the advancement of human knowledge above all else. As a result, one way to persuade the administration to promote the immigration of foreign students is to highlight their contributions to the U.S. In fact, the Association of International Educators reported that “the 1,094,792 international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $39 billion and supported more than 455,000 jobs to the U.S. economy during the 2017–2018 academic year”. And America needs this labor force! In an article for The New York Times, national economy correspondence Patricia Cohen reported that in addition to the unemployment rate in America hitting a 50-year low in October, “there are [now] more job postings than job seekers”. Once the administration begins to see international students not as a roadblock to economic recovery but as a fuel source, we will perhaps return to the immigration boom of the 1950s and enter a new golden age of progress.
However, in recent years, there has been a decline in the U.S. market share of enrolled international students resulting from visa delays, foreign policy, as well as attitudes towards America’s safety and hospitality. In fact, data from the State Department shows a decline of 595,569 F1 visas issued in 2014 to only 362,929 issued in 2018; this is an almost 40 percent decrease in the number of student visas issued by the U.S. in the span of four years. In addition, the State Department extended the time for administrative processing of student visas from 60 to 180 days in February 2019, making it harder for admitted international students to enroll by the usual September deadline. It is clear that under the current administration, international students are facing a harder time coming to and staying in the country.
Historically, there have been periods of decline in the number of foreign students migration to the U.S. For example, many scholars attribute complications with visa issuance to periods of national turmoil, such as the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. As a response to the increased difficulty with obtaining visas following September 11th, the Linguistic Society of America published a statement in 2004 that read “the undersigned American organizations of higher education, science, and engineering...strongly support the federal government’s efforts to establish new visa policies and procedures to bolster security; however, we believe that some of the new procedures and policies, along with a lack of insufficient resources, have made the visa issuance process inefficient, lengthy, and opaque”.
Consequently, the only thing that is clear is the fact that the issues of global student migration and national security are inextricably and paradoxically linked. On the one hand, facilitating the immigration of foreign students bolsters the economy by filling jobs with qualified individuals and propels the landscape of innovation with meaningful research and transnational collaboration. On the other hand, the current administration has made it clear that national security and economic recovery are among its top priorities, forcing foreign policy and border control decisions to have an indirect consequence on the immigration of international students. For example, consider how the recent trade war with China has influenced Chinese international students’ attitudes, who make up the largest population of students studying abroad. In an article for The New York Times, Erica Green reported that “as trade tensions escalate with Washington, Beijing warned Chinese students this month of visa restrictions and delays in the United States.” This is an example of how world politics can indirectly affect prospective international students’ attitudes towards their host country, forcing them to ask themselves the question, “Am I welcomed in this country?”
The America of today looks quite different from the America of seventy years ago. Today, our country can at times appear unwelcoming and antagonistic towards the very same people that contributed their life to the building of this great nation, the very same people who the International Students Advisory Board seek to serve. Therefore, I want to express my continued support for the international student community and extend my deepest welcomes to anyone who hopes to come to the U.S. for a chance to educate and better themselves. I can also offer the idea that students should exist as a uniquely neutral actor in this drama we call world politics. Following the objective attitudes of Science, a student should dedicate themselves to the advancement of human knowledge above all else. As a result, one way to persuade the administration to promote the immigration of foreign students is to highlight their contributions to the U.S. In fact, the Association of International Educators reported that “the 1,094,792 international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $39 billion and supported more than 455,000 jobs to the U.S. economy during the 2017–2018 academic year”. And America needs this labor force! In an article for The New York Times, national economy correspondence Patricia Cohen reported that in addition to the unemployment rate in America hitting a 50-year low in October, “there are [now] more job postings than job seekers”. Once the administration begins to see international students not as a roadblock to economic recovery but as a fuel source, we will perhaps return to the immigration boom of the 1950s and enter a new golden age of progress.
Comments
Post a Comment