‘My goals vanished’: Afghan students rocked by visa denials

The Guardian 22 August 2023

Yalda Azamee blinked back tears as she stared down at the American consular officer. “He did not even give me a chance to explain myself; he rejected me right away. He didn’t even look at my documents,” she said, rushing out of the United States embassy building on to the streets of Islamabad to cry. It was the second time her application for a US student visa had been rejected, writes Ava Sasani for The Guardian.

In spring 2022, Yalda was accepted to Columbia and to New York University – and the latter offered her a full scholarship. However, to get a student visa, applicants like Yalda need to prove that they do not intend to immigrate to the United States. The consular officer needs to believe that the applicant will leave the US after graduation.

“For countries like Afghanistan or others where there is war, or other problems, it can be particularly hard to show that you intend to return home after you finish your studies in the United States,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law professor at Cornell University.
Full report on The Guardian site

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