Halted Educational Travel Trips and Campus Closures Tense Things For Student Travellers

Every year, lakhs of international students visit the US for research activities and educational programs. Consequently, educational travel trips have become a huge source of income for the US’ economy. Since educational institutions were shut for a long time period during the pandemic, many international students had to return to their home countries.

Rising unemployment amid the pandemic has dissuaded international students from moving in the US. Moreover, rising Covid-19 cases have led most students to consider leaving the country, where the virus is spreading at alarming rates. While some students have resorted to virtual learning methods, others have given up the idea to enrol in educational programs this year.

As per the annual Open Doors report of Institute of International Education, the number of international students enrolled in the US has witnessed a 43 percent drop this year. The data has been drawn from firms that promote international studies and research work among young learners.

After the news of Joe Biden’s win in the US election, several students are hoping for some positive change in their immigration status and their study visa. The international students, who use H-1B and F-1 visas that allow non-immigrants to live and work temporarily in the US, might now be freed from the restrictions that have been in place since the past four years. Even though elated with Biden’s proposal (to offer free college tuition for some categories of students in the US), many students in the country are tensed due to travel bans.

At the International Education Week (Nov 16 to Nov 20), several issues were raised related to emergency visa appointments. Some students were troubled about scholarship eligibility as many universities have refused to extend scholarship beyond spring 2021. With such strict travel bans, planning educational travel trips amid the pandemic seems to be quite a task.

Although immigration changes might be in Biden’s future list, it is certain that he won’t be putting much focus to this as long as the pandemic remains a major concern.

Problems continue to persist even for those students who are willing to go for educational travel trips even amid the pandemic. To begin with, the visa application process has now become much more cumbersome than earlier. Add to it the health concerns, multiple travel restrictions and the life of a student would seem no less than a nightmare!

Since the US embassy has been working with a minimal amount of staff, several Chinese students have complained of receiving repeated appointment cancellations. Consequently, visa services are delayed. In the wake of such issues, some students have decided to plan further studies in another country.

As a result of this, tourism and visa firms are offering students to apply for other country visas. Due to the decline in the number of international students, restaurants offering multiple cuisines are not too optimistic about their future!