Senator Padilla urges State Department to address international student visa backlog
Senator Alex Padilla.
The senator is joined by over a dozen others that co-signed a letter
Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) led a group of 23 senators in calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the U.S Department of State to address the backlog of visas for international students, which grew significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the start of a new school year approaches, the senators requested that the department take immediate action to expedite the visa process, including prioritizing review of these applications, maximizing alternatives to in-person visa interviews and providing flexibility on start dates for students given the delayed process.
“International students coming to the United States provide significant and essential value to the higher education system and our economy,” the lawmakers wrote. “Data from the NAFSA: Association of International Educators show that more than one million international students at U.S. colleges and universities during the 2018-2019 academic year contributed $41 billion to the U.S. economy. Furthermore, bringing international students to the United States enriches the educational experience of domestic students that would be more difficult to achieve through online formats.”
“While we recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a challenge, other competitor countries have issued clear guidance for international students, and we urge the State Department to do everything it can to expeditiously process student visas,” the lawmakers concluded.
“The United States prides itself on having a higher education system that attracts the world’s best and brightest. In turn, we benefit from the diverse perspectives and varied contributions they make to our economy, campuses, and communities,” explained NAFSA Executive Director and CEO, Dr. Esther D. Brimmer. “But without swift action, America faces the possibility of another semester – and possibly a year – with very few new international students and scholars arriving to learn and engage at our colleges and universities. We applaud Senator Padilla for his leadership on this matter, and the more than 20 senators who joined him in signing onto this important letter. We appreciate each of them for lending their added influence on a matter of vital importance to the U.S. economy, global competitiveness, and higher education.”
Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Gary Peters (D-MI) co-signed the letter.
A copy of the letter can be found here.
