05 January 2006
Summit Underlines Importance of Education Across Boundaries
State’s Harty notes U.S. educational opportunities, touts visa improvements
Washington – Educational opportunities in the United States remain “unparalleled” and foreign students should not be deterred by “outdated perceptions” of delays in processing student visa applications, U.S. officials say.
In a January 5 interview with the Washington File, Maura Harty, the State Department’s assistant secretary for consular affairs, outlined the message she brings to the U.S. University Presidents Summit on International Education, a two-day forum designed to invigorate partnerships for international education.
“This education summit … really speaks to the recognition of the importance of education across international boundaries,” Harty said.
The summit articulates the United States' "absolute dedication to the notion that when you get young people in this country visiting from abroad and American students going overseas to learn in other countries and about other countries you form the basis of better international understanding later in their lives,” she said.
President Bush opened the summit January 5, announcing an initiative to marshal the resources of four federal agencies to increase the numbers of Americans fluent in critical-need foreign languages. (See related article.)
The summit, hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings is focusing on ways to attract more foreign students and scholars to the United States, as well as to encourage more U.S. students to study in other countries. Summit participants include more than 100 college and university presidents from all 50 U.S. states, leading public and private research institutions, as well as community colleges, historically black institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, religiously affiliated institutions and women's colleges. (See related article.)
U.S. COMMITED TO EFFICIENT VISA PROCESS FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS
Harty said there continue to be “outdated perceptions” in many parts of the world about U.S. visa policies and procedures, a lingering impression that the United States is somehow “less welcoming” of foreign student than before September 11, 2001. Nothing could be further from the truth, Harty added.
Visa procedures adopted after the September 11 terrorist attacks resulted in some delays for certain applicants when originally implemented, but the United States has “turned a corner” in its ability to process visa applications efficiently, Harty said.
The assistant secretary outlined a number of steps the State Department has taken to expedite the processing of student visa applications, including:
• Adding more than 500 new consular positions since September 2001;
• Negotiating extended reciprocity agreements so that students are not required to apply for visas as frequently, or for renewals; and
• Directing its embassies and consulates to put student and exchange visitors at the head of the queue when scheduling visa interviews.
Harty said that almost all visa applications -- some 97.5 percent -- are processed within two days, and that the screening process for the 2.5 percent of visa applicants subject to special screening requirements for security reasons has been streamlined, typically taking one week to two weeks.
The United States has an "enduring commitment" to support international educational exchange and is working to encourage a resurgence of international students, officials say. During the 2004-2005 academic year, 565,039 foreign students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions, down 1.3 percent from the previous year's totals, according to the Open Doors 2005, an annual report on international academic mobility. (See related article.)
“We do not want to lose a single student and we don’t want them to miss the beginning of school,” she said, adding the State Department has “made processing of student and exchange visitor visas a priority at every post.”
A MESSAGE FOR PROSPECTIVE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Asked about her message for prospective foreign students considering study in the United States, Harty said, “We are open. We are interested. We are willing and we are able to not only to get their visa applications processed through the system as quickly as possible, but we are enthusiastic about helping them get here.”
“[W]e just could not be more serious about welcoming them and making that [visa application] process as efficient as it can be so that from the very moment they decide to study at an American college or university we are part of the process that welcomes them here.”
Harty encouraged prospective students to look at the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site -- www.travel.state.gov -- for information on visa procedures and traveling to the United States. The site includes information on what to expect during the student visa interview process. The site “demystifies the [visa] process,” she said, adding that “a more informed applicant is a more successful applicant.”
For additional information on studying in the United States, see ECA’s EducationUSA Web site and the State Department electronic journal, College and University Education in the United States.
