US Slams Doors on Africans Seeking Student Visas

New York : Apna Punjab Media : As the effects of the recent Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action come to light, another opportunity for students of color is being strangled, according to data from the U.S. Government, the UN and World Bank. According to reporting by Nigerian reporter Alexander Onukwue of Semafor, the data from these institutions reveals that the rate of U.S. visa refusals for African students increased to more than one in two (54%) in 2022 from 44% in2015. The data appears in a document titled New Report Finds Disproportion F-1 Visa Denials in Africa and the Global South, which can be found on the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration website. There is much hand-wringing about why the U.S. is not attracting more international students and yet as our new and first-ever analysis shows there is global talent that is eager and poised to study and succeed in the U.S., yet is turned away,” said Rajika Bhandari, Senior Advisor at the Presidents’ Alliance. International students today overcome many hurdles to study in the U.S., but a visa represents the ultimate barrier to entry that can thwart the dreams and potential of these students while also shortchanging U.S. institutions, the workforce, and our economy. Everybody loses when a well-qualified student is denied a visa.