student visa policies
On May 18, President Richard C. Levin sent a letter to international students and scholars outlining the agenda he is pursuing with other university presidents, trustees and educational association leaders to achieve improvements in the nation's visa procedures. The text of that letter follows:
I write to address an issue of major importance to you, to the University, to the nation, and to me personally, namely United States policy on visas for international students and scholars. I wish to review the efforts my colleagues and I have made to bring about improvement in the federal policies and procedures that govern the admission of international students and scholars to the United States.
Yale is international in its reputation, its faculty and students, and the scholarly pursuits of its faculty and students. We seek the most talented candidates throughout the world as students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. Yale is stronger for its international character, and the same can be said for this nation.
Protecting the nation from those who would enter it in order to do harm is a legitimate and essential objective. But the United States can have secure borders while maintaining access for international students, fellows and faculty. Indeed, encouraging visitors from throughout the world to experience American culture first hand will promote international understanding and make a substantial contribution to national security and international peace.
The problems that some students, postdoctoral fellows, and others have experienced in obtaining permission to enter the United States have been of great concern to me and to the trustees of Yale University, as well as to you. Although the majority of our international students and scholars have secured a visa without unreasonable delay, a small number -- disproportionately graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from China -- have waited so long for a visa that they been forced to defer enrollment or postpone research. Others have chosen to forego trips home or attendance at scientific conferences outside of the United States for fear of delay on re-entry.
Such situations, even if relatively infrequent, are unacceptable. They erode the Yale community's ability to attract and offer its programs in a timely way to all those who gain admission. They also can foster the impression that the United States no longer values international academic exchanges.
This spring, I convened a group that included the presidents or their representatives and one or two trustees from several leading universities to work together to raise these issues with the Bush Administration. I have personally written to, or spoken with, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Homeland Security Thomas Ridge, and Attorney General John Ashcroft. I intend to meet with senior White House personnel later this month. Yale's Vice President Dorothy Robinson and Associate Vice President and Director of Federal Relations Richard Jacob have met with senior members of the Departments of Homeland Security and State. We are also briefing members of Congress about our concerns. I also have discussed the particular hardships of Chinese students with the United States ambassador to China and China's ambassador to the United States. While in China, I discussed the issue with senior government officials and gave a half-hour interview on the subject on one of the most widely-viewed television news shows in China. These efforts will continue.
I have emphasized throughout the overarching need for a timely, efficient, transparent and predictable process for securing visas. Our agenda is four-fold:
1. The visas granted to international students and scholars should, at a minimum, be valid for the length of their academic program, and should permit travel to and from the United States. For example, at present the visas issued to Chinese students and scholars are valid for just six months and two entries to the United States; students from Bhutan, Madagascar and Iran are issued visas valid for three months and a single entry. Students from most countries receive visas valid for their entire course of study. Our proposal requires the concurrence of the governments of students' and scholars' home countries.
2. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, many students and scholars seeking permission to enter the United States are required to pass a background check. In fact, this screening process is the principal cause of delay. That process should be improved.
Information systems are outmoded and their modernization should be a priority. Congress and the Administration should allocate a portion of homeland security funding to that purpose.
Security clearances should be valid for the duration of a visa. At present, they expire in 12 months.
3. The process for renewing a visa should become more user-friendly. At present, applicants must leave the country before they can even file an application. Students, fellows and faculty should be permitted to begin their application to renew a visa while they are in the United States.
4. United States agencies should establish clear timelines for completing a background check. They should take special actions to resolve applications which are not completed on schedule.
I believe the Bush Administration is receptive to comments from universities, and I am confident that it will make at least some changes in response to the proposals advanced by Yale and others in higher education.
T H I S
To the Members of the Yale International Community:
Sincerely yours,
Richard C. Levin
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