U.S. Visa Policies: a Mixed Picture

Ongoing reform of the U.s. government's system of issuing visas to foreign nationals is continuing to have a wide impact on academia, particularly graduate schools. But as that situation improves, educators find that many other factors weigh in on the ultimate composition of the student body of their departments.

One example is the number of foreign students who are applying to graduate schools in the U.S. Of the top 50 chemistry graduate departments--as ranked by the amount of National Science Foundation research funding they receive--that responded to a Chemical & Engineering News survey, most (53%) have seen an increase in foreign student applications for this academic year.

Just under half (44%) of the chemistry departments that responded, however, saw a decrease in foreign student applications. To higher education experts, these conflicting statistics are one of several troubling indicators about the state of U.S. graduate education in the physical sciences.

Overall numbers of foreign graduate students also remain an area of concern. In the C&EN survey, 63% of departments responding reported that one-third or more of their total graduate student body is composed of foreign nationals. Experts say this situation highlights the departments' dependence on foreign nationals as well as the declining numbers of U.S. students who are choosing careers in chemistry and other physical sciences.

The C&EN survey, which looks at the visa situation and its impact on foreign graduate students in chemistry, shows that the situation is in flux. In last year's survey, for instance, 55% of departments responding reported that the number of foreign student applications they received had declined (C&EN, April 5, 2004, page 67). The declines ranged from less than 1% to a high of about 51%.

Visa delays posed a huge problem last year, especially as the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began implementing or enforcing a variety of more stringent visa policies as well as higher level review of visa applicants when the situation warranted.

Of the departments that responded, 71% reported that foreign students already enrolled at their institutions had trouble reentering the U.S. when they left for business trips or vacations. In addition, 74% said that at least one student accepted at their institution in 2003 had been unable to join the department because of visa delays or denials.

The picture that has emerged since last year is one of general improvement. Many departments report that students and administrators this year have a better handle on visa policies and procedures--they are learning to finesse the system. Last year's numerous Kafkaesque anecdotes of foreign students endlessly waiting to obtain student visas or to regain entry into the U.S. on existing visas appear to be on the decline.

But the concern over foreign graduate student applications and enrollment has persisted. For many experts in higher education, the numbers associated with this group highlight how the confluence of world trends, including cultural trends in the U.S., continues to affect academia and markedly influence the face of graduate education in science and technology.

The survey conducted by C&EN provides a snapshot of how visa policy is affecting graduate chemistry education in the U.S. Thirty-one of the 50 chemistry departments polled responded to this year's survey--a 64% response rate. Respondents answered six questions covering departments' student-body makeup as well as ongoing consequences of visa policy changes enacted since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Of the departments that responded to C&EN's survey, 41% reported a decrease in the number of accepted foreign students between 2002 and 2004; 31% had a decrease of five or more students. But increases in the number of foreign students accepted were logged by 53% of departments, and 22% saw the number increase by five or more students.

Graduate students who have had difficulty reentering the U.S. because of visa delays were reported by 63% of departments, and 80% of these schools specifically mentioned problems for students from the People's Republic of China.

What's more, first-time applications from foreign students who want to study in the U.S. are still falling. NSF figures show decreases each year between 2001 and 2004 for total student visa applications, which graduate education experts see as a sign of the times. Whatever the visa hurdles, they say, the U.S. is facing increasing competition for foreign students from higher education institutions in many other parts of the world.

DECLINING INTEREST in U.S. schools, perhaps prompted by visa difficulties, is particularly noteworthy for graduate students from China. A survey released by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) in December 2004 focused on first-time enrollment of international students in all fields of study. The survey shows that first-time enrollment for students from China--the largest source of international students--decreased by 8% between 2003 and 2004.

Chinese physical sciences students, in particular, are more likely to be selected for extra security checks because of the need to prevent technology transfer in certain areas of science vital to national security. "The concern of the consulate in most cases seems to be that the students are learning material while in the U.S. that can be applied to warfare," according to Edwin Hiss, administrative officer for the chemistry department at Washington University in St. Louis.

At the same time, the State Department is denying visas to large numbers of students from China on the basis that they appear to be intent on staying in the U.S., rather than returning to their country, once their graduate education is completed.

In their response to the C&EN survey, officials in Harvard University's chemistry department noted that three of their graduate students from China experienced visa difficulties.

"In each case," Harvard officials said, "the student's initial appointment at the consulate resulted in their application being denied, and there were lengthy delays of several months before a second appointment was arranged and the students cleared security checks."

Vera Dragisich, chair of the chemistry admissions committee at the University of Chicago, also mentioned three Chinese students who had visa delays of several months. Similarly, Gregory S. Girolami, head of the chemistry department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, reported two Chinese students who went home for the 2002–03 winter holiday break and were denied reentry until June 2003.

In addition to examining foreign student application and acceptance statistics, the C&EN survey asked departments how specific changes to visa policy have affected the situation. Of 29 departments that responded to five questions about visa reforms and the effect on their foreign students or departments, 62% said such changes have had no effect or that they represented a hindrance. Several respondents didn't answer the questions because they felt unqualified to comment.

The C&EN survey inquired about the following situations or changes to the visa-processing system that can affect the situation for foreign graduate students: directing U.S. consulates that are reviewing visas to give priority to student visa applications; disseminating visa-processing guidelines and recommendations through university, embassy, and government channels; requiring in-person interviews for all visa applicants; requiring interagency security reviews (Visas Mantis) for visa applicants noted as a potential risk; and implementing the SEVIS tracking system at universities.

Visas Mantis is an extra security clearance intended to prevent illegal technology transfer, and SEVIS (the Student & Exchange Visitor Information System) is the government-required database of all foreign student visa holders that must be maintained by individual academic institutions. Several respondents said they support the implementation of both of these programs but are concerned about the delays they cause, a condition that government officials hope will improve as the programs mature.

At a Feb. 18 session about visa policy during the 2005 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C., C. Stewart Verdery Jr., then assistant secretary for border transportation security policy and planning at DHS, told the crowd that visa-related security programs established after Sept. 11 have already "drastically improved" since their inception.

"Two years ago, we saw massive delays and massive inconvenience. Now, it's less of a burden and a faster process," Verdery said. "We've taken some of the silly rules off the table and allowed inspectors to do the best job they can."

In conjunction with the AAAS talk, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report showing that the processing time for Visas Mantis checks had decreased from an average of 67 days in 2003 to 15 days in 2004. Visas Mantis has been a particular cause of delays for foreign students and scholars.

The GAO report said changes to Visas Mantis--such as increasing dedicated staff, developing a tracking system, and providing more guidance to consular officers--have reduced the burden on foreign science students. In addition, the State Department extended the validity period of Visas Mantis so that foreign students can leave and reenter the country without repeating the security review for up to four years (C&EN, Feb. 21, page 12).

HIGHER EDUCATION officials have applauded these changes while noting that more work needs to be done to continue refining the visa process.

"The improvements to date show that we welcome foreign scientists and that the visa process will not pull the welcome mat out from underneath them," said Matt Owens, federal relations officer for the Association of American Universities, at the AAAS talk. Owens is worried, however, that continued perception of the U.S. as a difficult place to obtain a visa is siphoning students into competitor programs in countries such as Australia and the U.K.

The numbers reported in the CGS survey--which polled the council's approximately 450 member schools on domestic and international admissions and enrollment--seem to indicate that the U.S. allure is dimming. Of the 127 schools that responded to the CGS survey, 68% reported declines in first-time international graduate student enrollment for 2003–04.

Not all departments are in the same boat. For the physical sciences, CGS found that enrollment increased by 6%. CGS explained this increase by noting that "an interesting aspect of the finding on physical sciences is that the same number of respondents reported increases and decreases, but the relative size of the programs and magnitude of change for those with increases produced an aggregate 6% increase."

Mark C. Regets of NSF's Office of Science Resources Statistics says, "While it is not reflected in the aggregate numbers for all students, it would not surprise me that some graduate programs in the sciences would be experiencing increases."

Specifically, Regets cites a large increase in science bachelor's degrees obtained in countries such as India and China, along with the weak U.S. dollar helping make tuition more competitive, as possible factors in some schools' higher international enrollment figures.

Even as aspects of the situation for international science students appear to be stabilizing, some experts worry that the visa issue deflects attention from a deeper problem with the number of U.S. citizens entering science careers.

"There is a troubling decline in the number of U.S. citizens who want to become scientists and engineers," said M. R. C. Greenwood, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs for the 10-campus University of California system, at a congressional briefing in February. "If we don't turn the situation around, science and technology education will face tremendous deficits."

"This is an excellent time to shift focus to U.S. students," says Donna J. Nelson, associate professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma. "Schools should work to ensure that more women and minorities participate--we've got a natural source here.

"We don't want to make people [from other countries] feel unwelcome," Nelson says, "but it's good to discuss these issues, particularly in the light that U.S. women and minorities often feel they are not wanted."