Graduate students at Syracuse University are concerned about changes to the visa renewal process for Chinese students in certain fields.

The United States State Department rolled out a new policy in June that requires Chinese students in some STEM fields to renew their visas annually rather than every five years. The change is designed to prevent intellectual property theft by the Chinese government. In interviews with The Daily Orange, students said research theft is rare and that the policy will delay students’ studies and research.

Jiaming Huang, vice president of SU’s China Student Development Think Tank, said after the visa restrictions were announced, some Chinese students at SU decided to return to China after completing their undergraduate degree rather than pursuing a graduate degree. The think tank promotes Chinese international relations and informs Chinese students about American culture and politics.  

To renew their visas, students will have to return to China every year instead of every five years. Huang, a junior Chinese international student studying economics, political science and international relations, said many of the Chinese students at SU can afford the travel between the U.S. and China, but the visa restrictions will make it difficult for graduate students to finish their studies.

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“I anticipate there will be a very low acceptance rate regarding visas,” he added. “(Immigration officers) will issue less visas to students whose research topics concentrate on security issues or emerging technologies.”

Students who don’t renew their visas would be legally allowed to stay in the country as long as their student status remains valid, but they won’t be able to re-enter the country if they leave to visit family or attend an academic conference.  

The State Department hasn’t publicly released information about what fields will be affected, but instructions sent to U.S. consulates said students studying topics such as robotics, aviation and high-tech manufacturing would be targeted, according to the Associated Press. The three fields for which visas will be restrictions are listed priority areas in China’s “Made in China” 2025 manufacturing plan, per the AP.

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Visa lengths for Chinese students have varied across presidential administrations. George Athanas, interim director of SU’s Slutzker Center for International Services, said in an email that Chinese students were previously issued one-year visas dating back to President George W. Bush’s administration.  

The U.S. made the switch to five-year visas for Chinese students in 2014, so these visas were only issued for four years before the policy was reversed for certain graduate students. Chinese undergraduates and graduate students in other fields aren’t affected by the change.

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Chenyu Hao, a master’s student studying forensic science, said President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Chinese students are spies is “offensive” and that research theft is not an issue. She said that even though her major won’t be affected by the visa restrictions, Trump’s rhetoric has made her uncomfortable because her studies involve the topic of national security.

“Most of us are here for the learning experience, for the research that will otherwise be intangible in China,” Huang said when asked about the possibility of students selling stolen research.  

Rajesh Kumar, a doctoral student in the computer science department, said research theft is “impossible” due to faculty supervision of graduate students’ research.

“Here, everyone is fighting to get to their Ph.D., to build their profile,” Kumar said. “If a spy comes and they don’t care about their Ph.D. or profile, still there is supervision involved.”

Kumar came to the U.S. from India in 2013. He said his five-year visa expired in January because he did not want to delay his research by returning home to renew it. His lack of a valid student visa will prevent him from attending his brother’s wedding, he said, adding that he will be unable to attend academic conferences outside the U.S.

The visa renewal process generally takes two or three months, a length of time that could delay a research project, Kumar added. The lack of a system to renew student visas in the U.S., he said, harms international students.

“It is affecting our teaching capability, our research capability, as well as our financial situations and our ability to travel to a conference,” Kumar said.

Many international students renew their visas during the summer, but Kumar said doctoral students often use the summer to focus on their research because they’re not teaching or taking as many classes.

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Jack Wilson, president of the Graduate Student Organization at SU, said the policy shift “takes these students in bad faith,” and the added costs of renewing the visa annually could discourage students from studying in the U.S.

He cited a proposal to increase student visas fees by $150 as an additional financial burden on international students.

“For someone making $15,000 or $20,000 a year, $150 on its own is a lot,” Wilson said. “And if you’re doing that five times over your career, it adds up.”

He said the the visa limits are  “counterproductive” because if the U.S. government discourages students from staying in the country, they will return to China anyway with the research and knowledge they have already acquired.

Athanas said the Slutzker Center is helping students impacted by providing students with information about visa requirements for returning from travel abroad. He added that students are given information when requesting a travel signature on their immigration documents and that they can speak with an adviser if needed.

Published on September 18, 2018 at 10:15 pm

Contact Casey: [email protected] | @caseydarnell_