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Visa nightmare prompts resolution seeking support of international education
By DONNA LONGENECKER
Reporter Assistant Editor
Qing Liu was to begin her studies in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures this fall after being awarded a Presidential Fellowship, one of the most prestigious graduate awards offered by UB. Having studied Spanish for most of her life at specialized language schools in Beijing, Liu had been preparing for the past several years for graduate study in the U.S.
But on two separate occasions, after interviews at the U.S. Consulate, her visa application was denied with no real reason given other than if she was studying Spanish, she might consider doing it in a Spanish-speaking country. Liu gave up in despair after her third interview.
Liu's story was related by Maureen Jameson, associate professor of French and interim chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, yesterday during the first meeting of the academic year of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
Prompted by frustration at being unable to successfully recruit Liu and other international students because of tighter immigration restrictions in response to the terrorist attacks in 2001, Jameson introduced a resolution for consideration by the Faculty Senate calling for faculty and administrative support of international education at UB. The resolution was overwhelmingly approved by the FSEC for an expedited hearing at the first full senate meeting of the year on Oct. 14, with plans to present it, if approved, to the SUNY Senate later in October.
Jameson first brought the issue to the senate's Student Life Committee, chaired by Peter Nickerson, professor of pathology and chair of the Faculty Senate. Nickerson and Jameson then enlisted the help of Stephen Dunnett, vice provost for international education, who also spoke at yesterday's meeting about the difficulties UB has faced this year and last in recruiting international students.
Jameson noted that even with the best efforts of the Office of International Education, many students were unable to obtain visas. "It was quite a loss to us to unsuccessfully recruit this student," Jameson said of Liu.
In response to the consulate officer's comments and the rejection of Liu's visa application, the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures drafted a detailed letter explaining that the U.S. is the fourth largest Spanish-speaking country in the world and that students' choice of graduate schools depends on the resources that are available within the institution.
Jameson read from an email exchange between Liu and William Egginton, assistant professor in the department, which conveyed the emotional toll the process exacted on Liu. "It is extremely difficult for me to make this decision; however, I feel that I would like to quit," Liu wrote. "Each time I tried, I wished I could win. You can't imagine how stressful it is to prepare for such an interview and how disappointed I am after getting rejected. Now, I just want to stop torturing myself (also you, to some extent). It is not an easy decision for either of us. Dating back to college, I have been preparing for study in the U.S. for several years and already reached the last step. It is so hard for me to give up something that I have been longing for. However, the more I get in, the harder (it is), especially given that there is really little change about my situation," Liu wrote regarding her decision to end the visa application process. Each visa interview cost Liu $100.
She thanked the department for its support and Egginton noted in a response to Liu that "this country will come to regret the policies that have led to the excluding of so much talent from our graduate schools."
Jameson noted that every faculty member in her department "has spent years as the guests of scholars in other countries. Study abroad is part of our formal training; we're all veterans of study abroad programs and advanced graduate programs overseas, and we've all been well-received by other countries and are now so frustrated to see the hospitality of our own country shutting down," she said. "This has been a matter that has touched us very greatly in our department and it's that energy that is behind this resolution that I drafted with the help of Stephen (Dunnett) and his staff and members of the Student Life Committee."
Dunnett told FSEC members that about 50 graduate students were denied visas to study at UB this semester and many more international students faced the repercussions of having their visas delayed, including losing out on coveted spots in residence halls, even though they already had paid for them. Many were accommodated instead in local hotels.
Liu's case is not an isolated incident, Dunnett added, but it surprised staff in his office because most of the visas that have been difficult, if not impossible, to obtain have been for students studying the natural sciences and biotechnology, or other areas deemed sensitive by the government.
The resolution notes that during the academic year 2001-02, UB generated about $51,523,800 from international enrollments. Moreover, more than $11.95 billion was injected into the U.S. economy that year from foreign students.
The full resolution may be viewed at http://rll.buffalo.edu/rll/INTERNATIONALEDUCATION.pdf.
Dunnett and Jameson are asking that the New York State congressional delegation work to remove barriers to prospective international students wanting to study in this country-barriers that are seemingly arbitrary and unrelated to real security issues, such as defending U.S. borders.
Tighter restrictions also will negatively impact the ability of U.S. students and scholars who want to study or participate in symposiums and conferences overseas, Dunnett said. "We, too, will deny ourselves access to the free flow of ideas, information and knowledge," he said.
He pointed out that UB was the first U.S. university to have a presence in China after normalization of relations between the two countries, adding that UB has a "long, proud relationship" with China. Dunnett said he is optimistic in the long run that things will improve for foreign students simply because the tourism industry is down by 36 percent-a major impact on the U.S. economy.