Uncle Sam reaches out to Indian
students By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - Stung by an increase in the number
of Indian students heading for other destinations, the
United States is making a concerted attempt to de-fog
young minds about any fears they may engender about
pursuing an education in the US. Leading the campaign to
draw students is US Ambassador to India David Mulford,
as well as US business houses pushing the Bush
administration to make things easier in the job market
for non-US students who have studied in US colleges.
Tightening of visa norms post-September 11,
2001, an outcry against US jobs being filled by Asians,
as well as reducing the cap on H1-B visas - the
bread-and-butter work permit for Indians - have created
an atmosphere wherein more and more Indian students are
looking to pursue their education elsewhere. The
international degree market is a very lucrative
business, with several developed countries, including
the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, going out of
their way to lure students, especially Chinese and
Indian, who form the bulk of the international student
population worldwide. The problem with the United States
has been to balance the need for security as the leading
nation in the "war on terrorism" with a competitive
environment wherein the student is made to feel at home.
Then there is the added problem of the shrill
anti-outsourcing protests. Further, in an overall
atmosphere of falling job opportunities until recently
and the cap on H-1B visas set at 65,000, graduate
students are finding it increasingly tough to land
placements.
This week it was announced that the
US consular sections in India would collect two
electronic fingerprints from most visa applicants from
July onward. Since January 5, almost all visitors
arriving at US seaports and airports have had their
fingerprints taken as part of the US-VISIT (United
States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator
Technology) program in a procedure similar to the
process to be introduced in India.
To allay
fears, in an appeal to students last week Mulford tried
to assuage any misgivings associated with such stringent
security requirements. In a statement he said:
On the one hand, the United States
recognizes that to remain competitive it must do what
is necessary to attract the best and the brightest
students from India. At the same time, the [September]
11 attack made it clear that changes governing entry
to and exit from the US were necessary. To balance
these issues, the US invested heavily in technology
and people to enhance two key objectives: keeping
America open and ensuring more secure borders.
Secretary of State [Colin] Powell summed it up best
when he said our motto is "Secure borders, open
doors".
As we implement important measures to
make our borders and the traveling public more secure,
it is important to point out that these steps have not
changed the criteria for issuing visas to visit or
study in the US. Today more Indians travel to the
United States than ever before. This year our embassy
and consulates issued 12 percent more visas than over
the same period in each of the past two years.
Moreover, the visa issuance rate for India is higher
today than before [September] 11.
Our
improvements are making long waits a thing of the
past, and further decreases are likely as the US
introduces more automated systems. Students in certain
science fields may face an additional verification
step, but this procedure affects only a handful of
Indian applicants. The SEVIS [Student and Exchange
Visitor Information System] tracking system eliminates
altogether the need to delay some student
applications. Electronic fingerprinting will make it
easier to verify that legitimate students and
travelers qualify for visas. This will actually
facilitate their entry into the US. And each year the
[New Delhi] embassy makes a special effort to ensure
all students are interviewed in time to make their
first day of school. This year will be no
exception.
However, Indian observers say
visas are just one side of the problem. The other is the
declining employment opportunities for Indian students
graduating from US universities, which is proving to be
a major deterrent. This is unlike the situation in the
UK and Australia, where the governments have been at the
forefront to remove employment hassles after completion
of a degree. Taking a leaf out of the UK and Australia
books, the German government too has relaxed several
provisions, including visa norms and part-time work,
aimed at attracting Indian students heading offshore.
Since January 2003, Germany has allowed students to work
40 hours a week or 180 days a year without work permits,
up from the earlier 20 hours a week or 90 days a year.
Compulsory financial guarantees have also been reduced.
Employment opportunities are being liberalized, with
students now allowed a one-year leeway to look for a job
after they complete their courses. This is in contrast
to reports appearing in the Indian press that even
Indian MBA (master of business administration) students
in the US looking for internships that do not require an
H1-B visa are also finding them difficult to come by.
However, the one silver lining is that US
industry support for international students is at an
all-time high. Corporates, industry bodies and academics
are now at the forefront of efforts to exempt from the
H-1B quota students graduating from US universities with
master's and PhD degrees. In an interview, Sandra Boyd,
chair of Compete America, a coalition of more than 200
corporations, universities, research institutions and
trade associations, said: "This is an important change
in the way we've talked about the issue. No matter what
number [of work visas] Congress chooses, it's important
for corporates to always have access to graduates from
US schools." But any real changes may be hard to come
by: "It's a tough issue particularly in an election
year," said Boyd. The effort, she said, is to educate
members of the US Congress about the contributions made
by international students to the United States. "I'm
optimistic. We hope change will come sooner rather than
later."
Last month, Congressman Lamar Smith
introduced a bill, the American Workforce Improvement
and Jobs Protection Act (HR 4166), in the US House of
Representatives. The bill is being co-sponsored by five
other representatives. If passed, the annual H1-B cap
would not apply to applicants who have received a
master's or higher degree from a US institution of
higher learning. This exemption would be limited to
20,000 visas.
Mulford, for his part, is leaving
no stone unturned in his appeal to Indian students.
If you are considering future study in the
United States, I urge you to bear in mind the
investment we have made in you, to give you swift and
safer access to the US while also providing everybody
in America with a greater sense of security.
We want you to be able to take advantage of
the opportunities that attracted you to America in the
first place and to give you the peace of mind that
your security is our concern as well. America's
opportunities include universities and colleges of all
descriptions; student-friendly curricula; wonderful
libraries and research facilities; a strong focus on
innovation; approaches to research in many fields that
distinguish the US from all other countries; and the
individual freedoms and openness of American society.
We want you to feel welcome in the United
States - a great and safe place to
study.
Can marketing get any better?
Siddharth Srivastava is a New
Delhi-based journalist.
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