Five years after September 11, foreign policy and costs of education continue to keep international students at home.
After September 11, international student enrollment dropped for the first time since the 70s. Not only do foreign students have a harder time getting student visas, U.S. foreign policy may be discouraging them from coming in the first place.
Jobin Abraham, 20, a transfer student at AU from the University of Sharjah in Dubai, said before September 11, the process of obtaining a visa was much easier.
"It's definitely stricter and there are more rejections now."
At AU international student enrollment has decreased.
"Right after September 11 we experienced a drop in all regions," said Fanta Aw, director of International Student Services at AU. "People weren't sure the U.S. was still a welcoming place."
"It is very hard to fight perceptions," Aw said. Foreign policy is important in how the U.S. is seen in the eyes of students who are thinking of studying abroad. "Until we combine scholarship with better diplomacy, much remains to be seen."
Rouslan Nourdavletov, 20, a junior from Russia in the School of International Service agrees.
"In general, getting visas comes down to politics among countries," he said.
"A friend of mine is French; she gets her visa easily for four years! I strive to get a one-year visa," said Nourdavletov, "So politics affect regular people."
Aw said part of the problem may lie with the visa process. Students from "friendlier" nations many times have an easier time getting the necessary approval for their student visas.
"It's more difficult if you're coming from India, Africa or the Middle East," said Aw. "The assumption is that if you're coming, you might end up staying."
"The process is hard, long and complicated," Nourdavletov said of getting a student visa.
To get a visa, an international student must first be accepted by an American college or university. Once accepted, they are issued an I-20, a form that proves the student is in fact a student. Every international student must have a valid I-20 before applying for a student visa.
"An I-20 form is sort of like a contract," Nourdavletov said. A student signs this "contract" with their school. It shows how much the student pays, what school they attend and the year they will graduate.
Bilal Wahab, an SIS graduate student, came to the United States from Iraq last year. Although he received a U.S. sponsored Fulbright scholarship, he had to go through the same process as every other visa applicant. He filled out the paper work and was interviewed at the embassy "to make sure that I am not a terrorist or something," he said.
Fulbright scholarships are given by the State Department to international students who wish to study in the U.S. AU currently has 17 Fulbright scholars, including students from Iraq, Ukraine, El Salvador, Brazil and Vietnam. Since September 11 the State Department has offered more Fulbright scholarships to Islamic countries. They have created more scholarships for Pakistanis and a new program for Saudi Arabia, according to Aw.
Ana Paula Karruz, a Fulbright student this year, knows the Fulbright program makes it easier to come to the U.S. Karruz, a graduate student from Brazil, studying at George Washington University, spent a semester as an exchange student at the University of Texas in 2002.
Although there was an agreement between the college in Brazil Karruz went to and the University of Texas, she had to go to the embassy for an interview in 2002.
"This time, it was easier," Karruz said, Fulbright took care of scheduling the interview at the embassy. That meant she didn't have to make an appointment for the interview herself and she didn't have to pay the $100 processing fee.
According to Aw, one of the biggest factors in making the decision to study abroad is socio-economic.
"The proportion of students that come to AU is a factor of who can afford it more than U.S. foreign policy," said Aw. There are over 100 students from Japan at AU because "they are in a position financially to afford AU," she said.
Instead of having an easier visa process, some students would rather pay less to study. "I would rather be given cheaper tuitions," said Kyoko Arai, a foreign graduate student at University of Wisconsin.
Mario Beltran, 20, a freshman from Mexico in the Kogod School of Business, stressed that it is extremely difficult for an international student to study in the US if they don't belong to upper class status because it is so expensive. "So there are some flaws in the system," Beltran said.
