Visa delays are hampering efforts to increase international educational opportunities for both U.S. and exchange students in the country, delegates heard at NAFSA 2022 in Denver.
However, there are "some really important glimmers of hope about the future of the field."
However, there are various initiatives to help the industry recover from the pandemic, and allies in the U.S. government are supporting "moving in the right direction". But stakeholders also want more funding for U.S. exchange programs.
As for J1 visas in the country, there is "a lot of frustration," noted Ilir Zherka, executive director of the International Exchange Alliance.
"Visa delays are one of the most disruptive issues that donors are facing right now," the Union told The PIE. "Many U.S. embassy locations are experiencing particularly high demand for exchange visas as in the years leading up to the pandemic."
Increasing resources at specific times of the year would be beneficial, he suggested.
"We are approaching the end of the busiest window to process BridgeUSA Summer Work Travel and Camp Counselor visa applications for the summer," the Alliance noted.
Donors are also busy preparing for BridgeUSA high school programs starting in the fall and recruiting Au Pairs, as well as participants in the Intern, Teacher, and Intern programs.
Capacity limits create an environment where appointments are delayed or canceled abruptly, or not available for long periods of time. This is a big deal because many of these programs are seasonal or tied to the school year. That means the window for reviewing and issuing visa applications is usually very narrow."
The bipartisan House letter released in May emphasized "the importance of programs and calls for the priority of BridgeUSA J-1 visas," the organization noted.
"Modernizing the visa processing approach for exchange travelers will help ease the burden on donors," it continued.
"Modernizing the visa processing approach for exchange travelers will help ease the burden on donors."
The increase in visa interview exemptions — which the State Department has accepted during the pandemic for exchange applicants who have received visas in the past 48 months — will also "help rebuilding programs."
"In addition, allowing electronic transmission and signatures on DS-2019 models will ease the burden on donors. Manual signing requirements and form shipping result in unnecessary costs and delays. We support the efforts of Educational and Cultural Affairs to implement this change, hopefully, in the near future."
Challenges to visa processing revolve around limited interview appointments at some consulates, outdated dos and embassy websites, and increased visa rejection rates at various posts.
Nafsa has been working to increase visa processing at Spanish consulates in the U.S. for U.S. students seeking visas, the organization's deputy executive director of public policy, Jill Murray Allen, said. In addition, access to UK visas continues to be a challenge. Pie recently reported that this is a problem, with the Interior Ministry saying that applications under ukraine's Family and Housing Program for Ukraine are taking precedence over study, work and family visa applications.
However, the U.S. is now in a better position than it was under the previous administration, the speakers suggested.
"It's the case that the Trump administration is asking for a series of deep, deep cuts to exchange exchange programs," Zherka said. However, in fiscal year 2022, $753 million was allocated by the DOS for overseas exchange programs — $11.7 million more than the original budget request from the Biden administration.
For 2023, the State Department's requirement for eca is $741.3 million, on par with the fiscal year 2022 requirement. Zherka warned that an $11.7 million reduction in funding could have a detrimental impact on the Fulbright and Gilman Programs.
"The Biden administration made this request for funding for fiscal year 23 before Congress appropriated additional funds for fiscal year 222, so it's unclear whether the administration intends to ask for the cuts," the coalition told The PIE. "In our view, it's important for Congress to provide more funding so that we can incorporate more online programs, reach more audiences, and address the growing threats to democracy around the world."
The International Exchange Alliance and nafsa have called on both the House and Senate to set aside $1.1 billion or "the highest possible level of funding" in fiscal year 2023 for educational and cultural exchange programs.
The $1.1 billion proposal would support more than 430 EducationUSA Counseling Centers worldwide, enabling international students from 180 countries to come to the U.S., in addition to supporting 8,000 Americans to learn languages important to U.S. national security, such as Arabic, China, Persia and Russia.
"We are still waiting for the authorities to match that audacity," Zherka told the NAFSA audience.
"We're still waiting for the administration to match that audacity."
"At a time when exchange programs are in the process of rebuilding, increasing the budget for the ECA Office of the U.S. State Department is particularly important," a Coalition spokesman added.
Carl Herrin, chief of staff at Worcester State University, noted that many are predicting the outcome of the November 8 midterm elections and its impact on international education.
"We can anticipate changes [but we need] to know who has control of the House of Representatives and who will control the Senate." The biggest guaranteed change is in the Senate appropriations committee, he noted.
Nafsa has said that as part of the $1.1 billion, EducationUSA will see a $37 million increase in funding to reach at least $50 million. That will help restore, and also further develop and diversify, international student enrollment after the pandemic, it said.
The foreign language sector and international studies programs in Title VI programs will receive $141 million in the next fiscal year, up from $79.4 million proposed by the House of Representatives and $74.4 million proposed by the Senate for fiscal year 22.
Proposals for this year's Fulbright Hays programs ($13.8m from the House of Representatives and $10.8m from the Senate) are also too low. About $20 million should be allocated for the next fiscal year, the NAFSA noted earlier this year.
Following a 46% drop in new international student enrollment in the U.S. by 2020, there are however "some really important glimmers of hope about the future of the field and we regain our footing in terms of enrollment," added Murray Allen.
"We know there are opportunities... We are on the right track, but we also have really important allies in government and the coalition are working to strengthen international education and I think we are at an important moment to have all of this come together."
UCLA's vice chancellor for international studies and global engagement, Cindy Fan, sang the praises of the 2021 joint statement on international education. The statement acknowledged that global challenges require "cross-border partnerships and cooperation" to be addressed.
"This is exactly what we want to achieve in international education, and that's cross-border connectivity," she said.
Anthony Koliha, director of the State Department's Office of Global Education Programs, noted at the conference that broader agencies in the State Department are "working to resolve issues."
"I can promise you that when I talk to people in different offices across the State Department, when I speak to inter-agency colleagues... They're working for american taxpayers, they're working to make things better.
"There are a lot of boat legs in the water."
While they have to work within the framework, rules, regulations and laws in which they are put in place, they are "very keen to solve the problem and move things forward."
"We don't always move as fast as you'd like. It's not always transparent, we can't share all the internal conversations... We're balancing issues — the safety and security of Americans, the safety and security of people coming to the United States, national security issues, economic competition issues, all of these things, to support and through things like international education.
"At least one of our sister companies has a pretty interesting announcement that hopes to launch soon... There's a lot going on. There are a lot of boats in the water."
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