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Printer-Friendly ModeInternational red tape, weather push back new students
Students from abroad face blocks, delays
September 14, 2009 —
A student might blame the alarm clock for a late start or a missed class. But every year, there’s a group that faces an entirely different problem: international travel complications.
According to numbers from the on-campus Office of International Programs, nearly 400 students applied to attend SVSU this year. Of these, 300 were accepted. But getting permission into the United States is the tricky part: arrivals from those accepted actually number about one in three.
Among these is the complex process of acquiring a student visa. Students accepted to an American school must take their letter of acceptance to their U.S. embassy, fill out time-consuming paperwork and await the interview procedure.
Other students arrive on campus later than expected for several reasons, including weather issues and flight delays.
Before they arrive, students must contact the Office of International Programs, or OIP. Abdulhadi Al- Qahtani, or “Dawas” as he prefers to be called, is a graduate student at SVSU and an international student assistant. Among his duties, he responds to these calls.
From his paperwork, Dawas estimated that five or six students arrived in the middle of the required international students’ orientation session, a three-day session that includes preparation for American culture shock.
About 10, he said, came after the school year began.
When he gets word that a student from abroad is coming, Dawas will pick them up from the airport or bus station. He often drives them to get something to eat or to go shopping — as many students don’t have the clothes or blankets for Michigan’s climate.
“I know what it’s like to be a new student here,” he said, “so I do everything I can to make their first impression here a positive one.”
To study in the United States, students must go through an intense authorization process, said Yang Liu, an international student adviser.
“After Sept. 11, the U.S. government is very strict with its visas,” she said.
A former exchange student herself, Liu said she thinks the government is trying to ensure that all applicants have true intentions to study here. Many students must try several times to be successful, she added, though with each refusal the next application becomes less and less likely to succeed.
“But miracles happen,” she said, mentioning a student whose fourth attempt got her a visa.
This year, SVSU is hosting more than 430 international students from more than 40 countries.
As new students hit the campus ground running, fellow adviser Pat Shelley said the OIP isn’t worried.
“We take care of them from the moment they get here,” he said.