There are more international students at MSU this year, but it's becoming more difficult to come to the United States and stay at the university, students and administrators say.
This year, MSU has 154 new International students, bringing total enrollment to 3,277. That's an increase of 75 students from last year and continues a trend of increasing international populations at universities nationwide.
"As I look at the numbers at the other Big Ten schools, I believe the overall numbers are a little bit higher," said Peter Briggs, director of the Office for International Students and Scholars.
Last spring, Briggs expressed concern that new federal procedures might slow the admissions process. Officials had worried student numbers might decrease or students might arrive late for fall classes.
Before receiving a visa, students must register on the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, a program that records personal information. The information is shared with the FBI, CIA and the Department of Homeland Security.
Visas continue to be difficult for certain citizens to receive. International student Apar Maniar said he had no problems getting a visa from India but that certain populations, such as males from Pakistan, still have trouble. Maniar is from Bombay, India.
Slower visa processing might lead to smaller student populations in the future, Briggs said.
"We don't know yet how much of a bottleneck will be caused overseas," he said. "The issue is still simply too new."
Since spring semester, incoming students from select countries such as Iran and Libya need to participate in a personal interview within 30 to 40 days after arriving in the United States. Although he didn't have to be interviewed, Maniar said fellow international students have found the interviews to be invasive.
"They've said the experience is really bad," he said.
Once they arrive at MSU, SEVIS might make it more difficult for them to stay here, Oumatie Marajh, assistant director of Internationalizing Student Life said.
To ensure the students are in the country for legitimate educational reasons, Marajh said, students can be asked to leave the country if they aren't registered for six credits each semester in SEVIS.
In the past, some students haven't been able to afford six credits. Sometimes exceptions were granted so they could take four credits instead, but when SEVIS forms are transmitted to Washington today, no exceptions are being allowed.
Another financial barrier for international students is that apprenticeships have been a large source of finances for many international students, Briggs said. But in a time of budget cuts, the apprenticeships have decreased, leaving students to pay their way.
For now, enrollment is holding strong, Briggs said, adding that SEVIS hasn't created any overwhelming problems.
"It's had its bumps, but the technology has been working," he said.
