The Visa Sticker
Hello friends! Let’s talk about student visas today. A valid F-1 or J-1 visa needs to be presented when an international student crosses the border and enters US territory. That piece of sticker on a passport is the starting point of our journey to study and live abroad. As many of us already have the first-hand experience, it’s not always a breeze to get a visa.
After answering a zillion questions and navigating one of the most user-unfriendly systems, the lucky ones may get an appointment for an in-person interview that is actually within a reasonable timeline and a travelable distance. Then it’s time to face the interviewer. It can be a daunting process for many, who are kept outside of the consulate waiting for hours, put through multiple security checks, and questioned in a foriegn language they may have not mastered yet.
The interview is conducted under the assumption that each one of us is a suspect. We are expected to prove the absence of the intention to immigrate, use documents to back up the documents we provide, and never dodge the interrogative stare from the interviewers for a bit. Still, many see their visa applications rejected or “checked,” a process that could take an excessively long time and hence delay the applicant’s study plan.
No reasons need to be presented for rejecting or checking a visa application. In 2019, over 123,000 F-1 visa applications were rejected, accounting for about 25% of total applications. The rejection rates vary drastically by country and by subject of study. Those who are from “enemy countries” or who study subjects concerning “national security” are almost for sure to run into some troubles during the application.
The whole process is not necessarily effective in screening visa applicants. It is bureaucracy designed to display power.
What does it mean to international students? It means that to avoid visa rejection and checking, many of us are unable to go home for the entire duration of our study here. It means that our legal right to stay can be revoked at any given time for “visa fraud,” in cases where we fail to report something the government suddenly decides that it would have had an interest to know. It means that whenever we do, say, or want anything, the visa sticker is always there to remind us of the precarity of our status.
See you next Friday.
Sincerely,
An international student
The International Student Caucus is a working group under TAA. In addition to supporting the broader mission of TAA, the I-Caucus connects grad workers invested in advocating for students from all across the globe. Email Trisha trishachanda13@gmail.com to join!
