As the freeze – initially intended to last a few days – stretches into its third week, sector leaders are increasingly frustrated about the lack of communication from the State Department, with impacts compounded with every day that passes.
“The proof, ultimately, will be not in the promises but in the appointments,” Mark Overmann, executive director of the Alliance for International Exchange told The PIE News.
While welcoming positive signs that the department is “inching towards final policy changes and that appointments should restart very soon”, the lack of government clarity is wreaking havoc on the sector and is starting to take its toll on US businesses.
It is estimated that 3% of international participants due to take part in the department’s own Summer Work Travel and Camp Counsellor programs do not yet have visa appointments and are at risk of not being able to enter the US due to the ongoing freeze.
“These numbers are not insignificant and encompass several thousand young international participants and hundreds of American host businesses and summer camps,” said Overmann.
The US has a long history of inviting young people to take part in summer exchange programs under the government’s BridgeUSA program, attracting around 300,000 short-term visitors from 200 countries every year.
The proof, ultimately, will be not in the promises but in the appointments
Mark Overmann, Alliance of International Exchange
Considered an important diplomatic tool as well as vital to the country’s seasonal labour demands, visitors come for study and research opportunities, to take internships, enhance English language schools and teach in US learning institutions.
For those with rolling or concentrated fall arrivals, the continuing freeze is particularly concerning, highlighted Overmann, with au pairs, teachers, high school students, interns and trainees increasingly uncertain about their ability to get a visitor visa in time.
As previously reported by The PIE, the impact on international college students is also compounding every day, with at least half of new students still needing to schedule visa interview appointments to arrive in time for the fall quarter.
Since the announcement of the suspension on May 27, the state department has continued to send positive signals that visa scheduling will soon reopen, raising hopes of students and stakeholders alike.
On June 11, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce reiterated the position that the pause would not be “an ongoing or lengthy dynamic”, urging students to watch for the reopening of visa interviews and “continue to apply”.
Bruce also vowed to provide an update on June 12, which stakeholders say was cancelled.
On May 27, stated rationale for the pause was for consulates and embassies to prepare for “an expansion of required social media screening and vetting”, though there have been no further details about what this might look like.
