Student Visa Problems Persist

Visa problems continue for foreign students attempting to enter physics departments at U.S. universities. A new survey conducted by AIP's Statistical Research Center shows that in 2004 half the Ph.D.-granting physics departments reported that at least one admitted student was either denied a visa or considerably delayed by visa problems. About 60 percent of the departments also reported visa problems for foreign students returning to the U.S. after trips abroad. The AIP survey estimates that ultimately 12 percent of admitted foreign physics graduate students in the Fall of 2004 were (at least initially) denied entry. This actually represents an improvement; in 2002 the same fraction was 20 percent. The falloff in foreign graduate physics enrollment is matched by a substantial increase in U.S. students admitted: a growth of 42 percent in four years.

More information and the full text of the report on the AIP Statistical Research site
Contact Patrick Mulvey or Michael Neuschatz at stats@aip.org