International students are at a critical moment in their college education, panicked that huge backlogs for visas requests, shuttered consulates and bureaucratic rules that limit access to the U.S. may derail their long-awaited return to campus.
The stakes are particularly high in California, the top destination for international students where USC and the 10-campus University of California system alone collectively educate more than 54,000 of the million-plus international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities.
U.S. officials recently took major steps to ease the crunch. In late April, they lifted pandemic-related travel restrictions on students with valid visas from China, Brazil, Iran and South Africa, among other countries, as long as their academic programs begin on or after Aug. 1. They subsequently added exceptions for students from India despite the current COVID-19 surge there. They also allowed waivers of in-person visa interviews for students renewing their documents.
Despite these recent breakthroughs, problems remain. At UC San Diego, which educates the largest number of international students among UC campuses, as many as 25% of 8,400 students are still outside the country, said Dulce Dorado, director of the International Students & Programs Office. Some of them are facing problems getting visa appointments, confusion over travel rules, exorbitant airfare and access to flight reservations to California, she said.
“There’s just a lot of anxiety and concern from our students about whether they’re going to be able to return in the fall,” Dorado said. “But we’re doing everything we can to advocate for them. It is imperative that universities attract and retain the top students and faculty from within the United States and around the globe. Their contributions are evident in practically every sector of our society and bring us discoveries, innovation, artistic creativity, and economic vibrancy.”
Compliance & Ethics