For the reason that lifting of the close to month-long pause on new visa interviews on June 26, US-bound college students are nonetheless reporting a shortage of appointments, with delays and cancellations plaguing consulates as they implement President Trump’s enhanced visa vetting.
Whereas there was some optimistic motion, there may be nonetheless “a lot to be involved about”, stated Mark Overmann, govt director of the Alliance for Worldwide Change, describing the resumption of interviews as “rocky” and “unpredictable”.
The suspension, carried out on Could 27, put a halt to the scheduling of visa appointments for all college students and change guests coming to the US on the busiest time of the 12 months for visa issuance.
Impacts are already being felt by US summer time applications that depend on the inflow of au pairs, camp counsellors, researchers and academics participating in summer time change applications, and anxiousness is rising amongst worldwide college students resulting from enrol within the US this fall.
Based on over 90 nameless submissions compiled by NAFSA, 73% of establishments are anticipating a drop in worldwide enrolments this fall, with 40% reporting that college students had been turning away from examine or analysis alternatives within the US.
Consulates and embassies in India, China and Nigeria have seen probably the most instances of cancelled appointments and unavailability, aligning with the biggest supply international locations to the US.
“I’m but to listen to of anybody in my community securing a contemporary [interview] date inside Nigeria,” Bimpe Femi-Oyewo, CEO of Edward Consulting, Nigeria, advised The PIE Information.
“Happily, most of our college students secured visa dates forward of the freeze… however these trying to find new slots haven’t had a lot luck,” she stated.
Some college students are touring to different Nigerian states in the hunt for appointments, stated Femi-Oyewo, whereas expedited requests inside the nation have been largely unsuccessful.
“Sadly, some excellent Nigerian college students, regardless of gaining admission to prime US establishments and assembly check necessities, would possibly miss out because of the restricted visa availability,” she added.
Equally, in India, the freeze and ongoing delays have had a “vital ripple impact” on college students, dampening morale amongst these resulting from enroll in US schools firstly of the tutorial 12 months, Rachit Agrawal, co-founder of Indian schooling consultancy, AdmitKard, advised The PIE.
“We’ve noticed a rising sense of hysteria amongst candidates, a lot of whom are nonetheless unable to safe appointments at key consulates like New Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad,” added Agrawal.
Elsewhere, consulates within the Philippines and Colombia have reported extreme delays, with no availability in Manila till early August and no availability in Bogota till November, in keeping with Overmann.
“[We] even [had] a report of the Cairo embassy telling an applicant that J and F interviews are nonetheless paused and so they can’t schedule any interviews till additional discover,” he added.
Overmann highlighted the actual concern for applications with imminent, time-sensitive begin dates, equivalent to instructor and highschool change applications which are tied to the upcoming college 12 months.
Some excellent Nigerian college students, regardless of gaining admission to prime US establishments and assembly check necessities, would possibly miss out
Bimpe Femi-Oyewo, Edward Consulting
“With out prioritised scheduling, many of those members threat lacking their arrival deadlines, jeopardising the success of their applications and the colleges and communities relying on them,” he stated.
The Alliance and others have urged the state division to prioritise college students primarily based on the beginning of their applications slightly than the present coverage which favours these attending universities with worldwide populations of lower than 15% – one thing NAFSA says is creating an “arbitrary two-tier appointment system”.
On the crux of the problem – and the acknowledged cause for the unique freeze – is the administration’s roll out of enhanced screening of visa candidates, who’ve been “requested” to make social media accounts ‘public’ to allow them to be totally vetted earlier than getting into the nation.
Not solely is the resource-intensive nature of the brand new screening necessities more likely to create longer wait instances, however there are additionally grave issues in regards to the lack of transparency about what consular officers are on the lookout for.
What’s extra, critics argue that the obscure and subjective instruction to search for “hostile attitudes” will grant officers broad discretionary energy that NAFSA stated would “little doubt” result in inconsistencies in implementation.
On the Alliance, Overmann has heard “a number of stories” of candidates being denied as a result of their social media accounts weren’t public, with highschool change college students, who’re minors, being amongst these denied.
“We don’t need well-qualified highschool college students to be penalised only for following finest practices for youth on-line privateness and security,” stated Overmann, voicing issues in regards to the “unintended penalties which will come up when grownup requirements are utilized to minor members”.
Whereas many US schools are providing deferred admissions, distance studying choices, and making lodging for late arrivals, the disruption is inflicting many college students to look elsewhere and is already taking impact on international mobility tendencies.
Based on NAFSA knowledge, college students turning away from the US are primarily turning in direction of the UK, Australia, China and Germany, with curiosity within the US falling to its lowest stage since mid-pandemic.
Given the unpredictable nature of the Trump administration, the present US panorama dangers “pushing college students to contemplate alternate locations just like the UK and Europe, the place visa timelines are perceived to be extra dependable”, stated Rachit.
And but, regardless of ongoing difficulties in securing visa appointments, “US schooling stays a prime precedence for Nigerian college students,” stated Femi-Oyewo, who has been consulting with many already getting ready for 2026 enrolments.
Whereas conceding that some had been now additionally contemplating Canada and European locations such because the UK, Spain and France, Femi-Oyewo maintains that the US is “nonetheless the primary alternative for many”.
