Trump administration halts new student visa interviews, causing anxiety among Indian aspirants

The Donald Trump administration’s latest diktat to halt new student visa interviews is exacerbating already-elevated anxiety levels among Indian aspirants. 

The US President is increasingly being seen as hostile towards international students.

While visa appointments will be honoured for students whose dates are fixed, those who are still to book slots are clueless about how long the wait will prevail. Working professionals—many of them B-school candidates—who had quit jobs in India ahead of their planned US move in August, are under even greater stress.

Overseas studies consultants said while some clarity is expected in the coming weeks, those keen to study in the US can, for now, only wait while staying in regular touch with institutes.

Trump has locked horns with some top institutes, including Harvard, accusing some of enabling anti-semitism on campus.

A US embassy spokesperson in India on Wednesday said aspirants may continue to submit applications but embassies would adjudicate cases in full compliance with law, including to ensure applicants do not pose a security or safety risk. 

“No on e is sure for how long the pause is on, but various stakeholders at NAFSA have been saying it can take around two weeks before clarification comes,” said Piyush Kumar, regional director for South Asia, Canada and Latin America at education consultancy IDP.

NAFSA, an association of international educators, is currently holding the world’s largest trade fair for higher education in San Diego, US.

IDP, one of the top companies in the business, has seen a 20% drop in US applications so far this year, with sentiment worsening in the past four five months.

 “Hopefully, new visa slots will open. I’m advising students not to panic because there’s still twoand-a-half months before they need to head out,” said Kumar. Of IDP’s students, 75% have a visa slot but the rest could be held up following the new order.

Meanwhile, many are firming up Plan B — exploring other destinations for higher studies, especially in Europe.

Prashant Tibrewal, founder of Alum-n-i, said a client has applied to a leading French university and is fairly convinced of heading there, despite securing admission to one of the top 10 US universities.

Since coming to power, the Trump administration has frozen billions of dollars in funding for US universities and ramped up deportations and student visa revocations. 

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said recently the number of visas he has revoked was probably in thousands.

However, many of these actions are facing legal hurdles. Harvard University, which sued the government after it revoked Harvard’s ability to enrol international students, had a federal judge blocking the move with a temporary restraining order.

However, Trump has continued with action against the Ivy league institution, most recently moving to cut $100 million in federal contracts.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/study/trump-administration-halts-new-student-visa-interviews-causing-anxiety-among-indian-aspirants/articleshow/121473361.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst