Visa denials cloud foreign exchanges
By MICHELLE JESTER and BRIAN AOYAMA
DavidsonNews.net
For the past five years, Cannon School in Concord has hosted high school students from its Chinese sister school, Tianli International School in Luzhou, Sichuan Province. The program continued this January, but with a hitch: 11 of the 18 students were denied visas to enter the United States. They’re not alone. Other institutions, including Davidson College, say they’ve run into similar difficulties getting visitors visas in recent years.
At Cannon during these annual two-week exchanges, visiting students stay with host families, visit local landmarks and engage in cultural activities with Cannon students. The following June, a group of Cannon students, teachers and parents travel to Luzhou to experience Chinese culture for two weeks.
On Jan. 25, the tradition continued as seven students and one teacher from Tianli arrived in the United States. However, 11 other students were unable to make the trip. Nine days earlier, the U.S. government denied them permission to enter the United States.
Local organizers aren’t sure why. But they know that their experience is not unusual these days as U.S. officials keep strict controls on visa issuance.
ANNUAL PROGRAM
Typically, a group of 15-18 students and two to three teachers come to Cannon School for the exchange program. With approximately 3,000 students boarding at the Tianli school, competition to fill these slots is extremely fierce.
Weimin Yuan, Cannon School’s Chinese and East Asian Studies teacher, has worked to bring the group of students to Cannon for the past five years.
“The Tianli students go through a screening process that tests each student’s colloquial English and their ability to do some kind of performance to present to Cannon students, such as calligraphy, traditional dance or martial arts,” he said.
Once the group of 16 students and 18 teachers had been selected in November, Matthew Gossage, the head of Cannon School, submitted a letter formally inviting them. With this letter, the Chinese students and teachers traveled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province.
However, the consulate was busy processing an extremely large number of visa requests and instructed the group to return for interviews on Jan. 17, only 9 days before they were scheduled to arrive in Charlotte.
This new development complicated Mr. Yuan’s task of coordinating the students’ activities in the U.S., for in order for Chinese citizens to purchase airline tickets to the States, they must first acquire visas.
He remained confident. “About sixteen students had visited for four years in a row, and each of them returned [to China] without incident. I was certain that with our good track record, all 18 applicants would receive visas,” Mr. Yuan said.
On the morning of Jan. 17, however, Mr. Yuan received an email from Stephen Kong, his counterpart in Luzhou. Eleven of the eighteen students had been denied visas. The rejected students were devastated, and despite Mr. Yuan and Mr. Gossage’s best efforts, they could do nothing to help them receive visas in time for the trip.
To this day, Mr. Kong has been unable to reach anyone at the consulate to ask why so many students were denied visas. “If we knew reasons, we could remedy them,” Mr. Yuan said. “But we’re totally in the dark.”
STRICT PROCESS
Cannon school is not the only local institution to have trouble with visas. Davidson College has also encountered visa difficulties with international students and non-U.S. citizen faculty members.
During the 2006-2007 academic year, a visiting sociology professor from Ghana was unable to come to Davidson after being denied a U.S. visa. Similarly, current Arabic language professor Kifah Hanna, a native of Syria, was not granted a U.S. visa until a week before the school year began in August 2007.
“Eligibility to come to the United States has been a touchy issue for a long time,” said Kim Ball, Davidson’s director of human resources. “The security process has tightened up considerably since 9/11 and will only get more so in upcoming years. … We [Davidson College] don’t have any real influence as to who can come, regardless of their credentials. It’s all up to the government.”
Davidson College Dean of Faculty Clark Ross said strict visa controls have affected the number of foreign scholars and students at the college.
“The [visa] process has become more strict and tedious, which has ultimately reduced the international presence on campus. … We have the resources to bring them [international students or faculty] on campus, just not the authority. It’s frustrating and it’s easy to give up, but it’s important to have a diverse and international campus,” Mr. Ross said.
A GOOD VISIT
Despite the frustration with the visa application process and the disappointment of the denied students and expectant host families, Mr. Yuan said this year’s exchange program was an overwhelmingly positive experience.
The Tianli students attended classes at Cannon, made friends with their American classmates and host families, visited Davidson College and the College of Charleston, boarded the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and, during their stay in Charleston, had the chance to see the ocean up-close for the first time.
Both the Tianli students and the hosting Cannon students had the unique opportunity to directly experience and exchange culture which is at the heart of the program.
“It’s a very new, very different and very exciting experience for them. I know it will live with them for many, many years,” Mr. Yuan said.
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I used to bring a small folk music group from Wales to perform in Davidson once or twice a year. They have stopped their US tours because of visa delays. I’m not sure how a harpist and clogger threaten the US.
I have also been assisting several other people with immigration issues, people who were threatened with death for saying good things about the U.S. and democracy in their native country. One, a language expert, even works for the federal government in Washington, D.C. producing materials that shine a positive light on our dwindling world image. He has been told it may be ten years before the government completes their ID check. The backlog is in the millions, and he could be sent back tomorrow, to deal with those who want revenge for his brave support of the the US.
The Iraqi translator who worked so bravely with my son’s Army unit on the streets of Iraq was desperate to come to the US to escape death threats for his “traitorous work.” The door to America is shut tight to him, as a young Muslim male, he soon found out.
I spoke with Congressman Mel Watt’s office to see if it could help, but was told essentially that Homeland Security was an unapproachable, untouchable monolith, and to make even an inquiry would cast doubts on the inquirer– even for members of Congress. So this is America?
After the election in the fall, hopefully this sad situation, that touches millions will be corrected.
Thank you Michelle and Brian for writing this insightful article. I hope it encourages others to share their experiences. I know there are many similar ones in town.