Waiting in a non-air-conditioned room in the U.S. Embassy at Chennai, India, for 45 minutes was the only tedious process Augustyo Nath says he went through while obtaining a visa this summer.
After his paper work was completed, the mechanical engineer graduate student received his passage to the United States in the mail after only five days.
"The whole process was very easy," Nath said. "It was only long because of the people waiting in line, the processing time wasn't long at all."
But obtaining a visa might become more difficult for international students and professors because of a national policy implemented by the U.S. Department of State, requiring all foreigners to have in-person interviews with consular officials before acquiring a visa.
The intent of the policy is to seek out potential terrorists.
Nath did not have an interview before arriving on campus in August 2002.
"It's the country's policy to protect its citizens," he said. "I can't say that America is being unfair."
But some other international students say the policy will put unnecessary burdens on foreigners.
"Some terrorists came over here with a student visa, that's why the government is so strict on student visas," said Ayumi Misono, an English student and Japan native. "Some students from specific countries will have difficulty, especially the Middle East."
And university officials are concerned the policy might delay those from the international community from arriving on time for fall semester.
"There's nothing we can do with the policy except advise students to get their interviews as quickly as possible. We are encouraging them to go in before Aug. 1," said Rosemary Max, MSU's assistant director in the Office of International Students and Scholars.
Max said delays are typical for students arriving from the Middle East or China, but the policy might increase delays in other countries as people travel into the United States.
The State Department, in principle, requires each applicant for a student visa to have an in-person interview, but depending on a country's embassies and consulates different rules are set.
Kelly Shannon, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the Department of State, said new security measures have been ongoing since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"For us, security is always the No. 1 issue," Shannon said. "We continue to review visas in accordance with our national security obligations."
Shannon said the new policy technically doesn't require all foreigners to have interviews. But the policy does reduce the number of people eligible to waive their interviews.
Shannon said the categories of people eligible to get waived are individuals 16 years or younger, 60 years or older, foreign government officials, people working for accredited international organizations - such as the United Nations, World Bank or Immigration and Naturalization Services - and repeat applicants who demonstrated their eligibility within a 12-month period.
Shannon said 39 officials will be added worldwide to interview those applying for visas. More than 300,000 people obtained visas to the United States in 2002, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The State Department has prioritized so students and professors are the first foreigners granted interviews.
But some university officials aren't convinced the Department of State is adding enough funding or staffing to insure the new policy runs smoothly.
"Thirty-nine is a drop in the bucket for what they really need," said Peter Briggs, director of MSU's Office for International Students and Scholars. "Inadequate funding at the State Department has been a problem for a very long time."
Briggs said along with the inadequate funding, transferring some of the students' data from the Student Exchange Visitor Information System program to the state also might cause some delays.
Student Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, is a national computerized database system released in January by the INS, which records personal information, such as a student's failure to enroll or an arrest record.
Briggs added that by Aug. 29, all international students who are enrolled at the university should be in the computerized system.
Jim Cotter, senior associate director in the office of admissions, said 1,517 international students from 84 countries have been admitted for fall semester.
Cotter added many students who are admitted do not enroll in the university because many students apply to numerous schools before deciding which school to attend.
Antonio Planas can be reached at planasan@msu.edu.
