Pitt International Students and Faculty Weigh in on Visa and Immigration Policy Changes

For international students wanting to pursue higher education in the United States, the process of obtaining a visa and being admitted into universities can be challenging and complex. This past year, many policy changes have been made that have affected international students in different ways. 

Two Pitt-Greensburg international students–Aneska Ghale Gurung, a freshman public health major, and Jyopsima Rai, a freshman management information systems major–share their experiences navigating the U.S. immigration system and how it has affected them in various areas of their lives, while Dr. Paul Adams, associate professor of political science, offers his perspective. 

Dr. Paul Adams

INSIDER: What roles do universities play in shaping or responding to visa policy changes? 

ADAMS: The United States, for quite a long time but especially since the end of World War II, has been a major recipient of foreign students coming to U.S. universities to pursue undergraduate as well as graduate degrees.

That’s been a strong point of what’s often called U.S. soft power. That we can influence the world by having people come to our universities to learn a lot. Some go home, some stay here. That’s good for us, too.

So changes to the student visa system, but also the way immigration laws are enforced by ICE and others (where people are legitimately here on student visas but are hassled or detained, which is illegal), negatively affect people who want to come to the United States and study.

Many people from around the world are less likely to travel here now to go to school, and that means they’ll go to Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia, and their talents will end up there rather than here.

There is also the matter of foreign-born faculty and staff, especially faculty and researchers who are here on specific visas as well.

So universities do have to lobby and advocate in Washington and at the White House and Congress to try to say, ‘Look, this is important not just from an economics perspective but from a broader world perspective.’

So universities like Pitt do have to play a key role there.

INSIDER: What are some changes from your perspective? Greensburg is small, but from Pitt as a whole, have you noticed changes regarding those visa policy changes?

ADAMS: There’s certainly a lot more discussion at the university level. There’s been significant talk at the university-level assembly and university senate council–which includes the provost and the chancellor–and there have been discussions from research faculty student groups about Pitt’s response to the current environment. There have been responses directly about what happens if ICE shows up on Pitt’s campus. 

So if ICE just showed up on our campus, campus police are supposed to be notified, and they have the authority to ask any ICE agents, ‘Why are you here?’ and ‘Do you have a warrant?’ And if they don’t, they really should not be on campus here or in any of the Pitt campuses.

INSIDER: What unintended consequences do you think policymakers often overlook when changing these regulations? 

ADAMS: They forget that people come here to the United States–they’re scientists, they’re chemists, they’re geneticists, they’re artists. They come here, they do well, they succeed, they contribute to our society in meaningful ways. They’re some of the best and brightest, and we steal that talent from the rest of the world.

After World War II, during the Cold War, there were Fulbright scholarships and other things to invite scholars to the United States. Opening our universities was a cheap, easy way for the U.S. to promote itself to the rest of the world. So by making that more difficult and less accessible, it makes the U.S. look closed off from the rest of the world when we really shouldn’t be.

INSIDER: Are there any emerging political trends that you believe will shape the next decade of visa policy? 

ADAMS: Migrant workers, who may or may not be legal, do a lot of important work in the United States in food service, meat packing, and agriculture. These aren’t jobs Americans will want or take. At some point, there will be economic blowback.

INSIDER: How might global events, whether economic, political, or demographic, drive future changes in the U.S. visa policy? 

ADAMS: There’s the line that, since the end of World War II, the United States has been an indispensable power, that nothing really matters globally unless the United States is part of it.

We’re falling behind. More researchers are now heading to Europe rather than the United States because they can’t get visas, and they’re worried about the U.S. political system. Europe’s always been more welcoming to those scholars from around the world. So the effects might be gradual, but at some point, you might get to a tipping point where the U.S. has to fundamentally make some changes if it hopes to remain competitive in the world economy. 

What has historically made us the greatest and most powerful state among the democracies, was partially that immigration grew our population, grew our economy, and put us in positions to be dominant.

It’s weird that we turn on the thing that probably got us there.

For the longest time there were advantages coming here, opportunities you might not get even in other advanced societies. But if we make it so difficult and painful and create a police state, then Canada despite the fact it’s colder looks pretty good, Australia looks good, Europe looks good, and even some other areas like parts of South America look good.

It’s also made students, faculty, and staff who are here on visas less likely to want to travel home because getting back in becomes a problem. We’ve had that issue. We’ve had people even decline to go and do foreign conferences or research abroad because they’re worried about trying to get back into the country, even though they have a legal visa.

International students 

Aneska Ghale Gurung, freshman public health major at the Oakland campus, is an international student. She explains the complex process she went through to get a visa. 

INSIDER: How has the U.S. visa process felt so far, and was it difficult for you?

GURUNG: It was honestly really intense, because even though I was born in the US, I had to give up my passport. It happened when I was younger because of family decisions.

This was my second time going through the visa process, and it felt so confusing and so emotional because I had a lot of friends who were being rejected.

I was surrounded by people telling me I couldn’t do it, but throughout the process, I got help from my dad, and it helped a lot because he goes in and out of the U.S. and Nepal every two months.

It took me two weeks to actually brace myself for the interview. 

INSIDER: Do you feel like the university helped you throughout the process?

GURUNG: No, not really. Most of my help came from outside of the university.

I did everything myself; I set it up, I prepared everything, and I went to the interview by myself.

INSIDER: Did the policy changes from this past year affect you? 

GURUNG: Yeah, because the policies kept on changing all of a sudden. I always had to be updated through the news and university emails.

I know a lot of people who took a gap semester or a gap year because of Trump’s new policies.

I had to take a gap semester because I was really unsure, and because I wasn’t sure if America was even going to be an option for me.

For a lot of international students in Nepal, America isn’t a realistic option anymore. I know a lot of people who have gone to Australia or Europe.

INSIDER: Are you stressed about maintaining your visa?

GURUNG: Oh, yeah for sure, because I have to watch my every move. I have to do everything mindfully. I’m like, ‘Will this affect my visa?’ Even if I go above the speed limit, I have to be very careful. 

INSIDER: What or who helped you the most during your process? 

GURUNG: Mostly, it was my dad. He kept reviewing the possible questions to be asked during the interview, which was the most stressful part of the process.

I really focused on getting the visa, and my friends, even though they didn’t know I was gonna take the visa, were really supportive about it and helped me too.

INSIDER: Do you know about campus resources that could help you if you needed it?

GURUNG: Student offices will probably help me through a lot, and maybe even the therapist or mental health offices.

INSIDER: What kind of information or updates do you pay attention to regarding immigration rules and visas?

GURUNG: I follow the embassy news, regular everyday news, and TikTok. I pay attention to the university emails as well.

INSIDER: What was the most stressful part about the visa process?

GURUNG: Probably the actual interview. Last time I went with my friends, so we did the interview together, but this time I was alone, and I was really scared.

You just stop thinking in the moment. When they ask you questions, you just stop, and you don’t know what to say, but it went well in the end.

***

Jyopsima Rai, freshman management information systems major, was born in the U.S. but grew up in Nepal and explains how the process to apply to universities in the U.S. has been, as well as the challenges of keeping up to date with current policy changes and immigration rules. 

INSIDER: How was the process of applying to a university in the United States of America? 

RAI: Things just kept getting delayed. Especially FAFSA, because I didn’t go to high school here and don’t have a residence in the U.S., I was considered stateless.

That’s not fair because, as an American, I have the right to claim what I was born into. But I couldn’t do that because their system is only designed for people who live here. And it was just weird.

I had to call myself a Michigan resident even though I wasn’t. I had to use my family friend’s location just to put my information into the process. And it delayed everything.

Right now, I’m still stateless. But hopefully by next year, I’ll be an official Pennsylvania resident, and I won’t have to worry about all of that.

INSIDER: Do you feel like the university helped you throughout the process?

RAI: For my process, it was all up to me. I was the one contacting the people I needed to contact.

INSIDER: Did the policy changes from this past year affect you? 

RAI: It mainly affected my friends since I am a U.S. citizen. Last year, when we all had to apply to universities during the summer, people were applying for visas as well. And that’s when Trump wanted to stop that.

There were issues for my friends and a lot couldn’t apply to different agencies. They had to wait and they had to take a gap year or a gap semester because they couldn’t book an appointment for their visas. 

Those who did book an appointment weren’t sure if they would be able to take the interview because of what Trump was saying.

It was an unsure period. That’s when a lot of people took a gap year to see how it is and figure things out. Maybe even decide to go to another country. Because now everyone’s, like, ‘Why would you go to the U.S.?’

Trump’s new administration has definitely affected the way things are.

INSIDER: Is it difficult to keep the visa status? 

RAI: Yes, even getting the appointment itself. People generally have to wait almost a year just for the interview.

My aunt and uncle, who are in Maryland, had to wait a year for that appointment. Even though they come here regularly to go see their granddaughter.

Now, once they go back, it’ll be difficult for them to come here again.

INSIDER: Are there campus resources that have helped you? 

RAI: No, not really, because at the end of the day, I’m still American. I still have citizenship. 

I’m in between. It’s a weird situation.

People I know who are from here always tell me to be aware. Just because you have a passport doesn’t guarantee anything anymore. People could use your history against you or where and how you’ve lived. 

INSIDER: Do you think this affects your academic performance? 

RAI: I think it does because you get worried a lot. The people who do have visas here can only work for a minimum of hours. So earning money is hard.

They also have to think of the next step. ‘If I don’t get a job, then I can’t stay here.’ And once their student visa is about to expire, they have to think of the next step.

There’s a lot to think about. It’s not easy.

INSIDER: How expensive is the visa application process? 

RAI: It’s very expensive. A lot of people save their money just for the visa application process. For people in Nepal to apply for a visa, they have to deposit a lot of money, at least around $7,000.

And instead of staying for six months, they’re only going to stay for three months. 

They’ll only get their money back once they come back to Nepal. 

Because of the high exchange rate, only wealthy or middle-class people can easily afford it. It’s harder for people who are lower-class to apply here.

And it’s worse, kind of, because Trump paused a lot of funding for higher education during the time I was applying for university here.

I had friends who got into really good schools, but they didn’t get any scholarships even though they’re the smartest in our school. They just didn’t get enough, and that’s not fair to them.

I have to say, having friends who are international students, they have a lot of difficulties. And the ones that aren’t super financially rich have it harder than anyone.

And you can’t even work to fund for yourself. So it’s just living situations for international students. But I feel like my friends have to be constantly, like, updated about what’s going on.

They don’t know what’s next for them. They just have to know.

INSIDER: What have you noticed about the visa application process?

RAI: I would say when you’re applying for the visa, it’s definitely very strict.

They check everything, and they’re not very welcoming when you apply. They’re a little judgy. And I think that’s kind of what they’re told to be. But it’s just the way it is.