STEM Professionals Face Hurdles Procuring US Visas, Report Finds

The U.S. visa process presents numerous administrative obstacles for scientists, engineers, and medical professionals looking to enter the country, according to a new report commissioned by the National Academies.

The most cited hindrance to obtaining a visa was the interview process, based on a survey of more than 1,200 respondents in 95 countries. That challenge, among other administrative delays and the perceived difficulty of applications, caused almost a third of respondents to express reluctance about applying for U.S. visas.

The survey questionnaire was available from Sept. 13 to Oct. 31, 2024, but respondents were asked to consider their experience applying for visas over the past 10 years. Annette Hager, a senior consultant at the firm contracted to run the study, spoke about the report’s findings at an April 3 webinar and cautioned that since the respondents volunteered to come forward with their experiences the survey could be skewed to those with stronger opinions on the process.

The report focuses on four types of visas that can be used to stay in the U.S. for short periods: B-1 visitor visas, F-1 student visas, J-1 exchange program visas, and H-1B temporary specialty worker visas. The majority of survey respondents were applying for B-1 visas, with almost two-thirds coming from an academic profession.

The timing of the report means it includes challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and two different administrations, but not the effects of policies the Trump administration began deploying earlier this year. The Academies is open to producing a follow-up report but does not have one currently in the works, according to remarks at the webinar by Ourania Kosti, director of its Board on International Scientific Organizations (BISO)

Administrative challenges

“Thirty-eight percent of all respondents said they had difficulty scheduling interviews,” Hager said, adding that “12% were unable to secure an interview before their travel date and that effectively ended their application process.”

The report also states that “administrative delays extending beyond travel dates (22%) and visas arriving after the planned event (8%) also led to missed professional opportunities.”

The U.S. has a visa waiver program that allows citizens or nationals of a select group of countries to visit the U.S. for 90 days without a visa, but the survey found that 19% of the 148 respondents who should have been eligible for that program still missed professional activities due to visa problems.

Additionally, “about a third of respondents who are citizens of countries participating in the U.S. visa waiver program still rated the U.S. visa process as ‘more difficult,’ or ‘much more difficult,’ than that of other countries,” Hager said.

Almost one-third of the survey respondents were from China or India, and the data shows that respondents from these countries were more likely to face visa challenges than average, especially when scheduling interviews.

Choosing other countries

According to the report, 30% of respondents indicated reluctance to participate in U.S.-based professional events, instead opting for Europe or other countries. Over 61% of respondents found that their experiences applying for a U.S. visa were more difficult than other countries.

“Many respondents described a prior negative experience with the U.S. visa application and that has made them unwilling to apply again,” Hager said during the webinar.

Over a quarter of the survey participants said they have even stopped collaborating with partners in the U.S. due to visa challenges.

BISO member Sekazi Mtingwa recounted one of the survey interviews that “really stuck out” in his mind: A UK-based physicist, originally from Pakistan, with a doctorate from the U.S. and former experience at Fermilab, recently was put on an administrative processing hold after applying for a J-1 visa.

“That carried on for months, and eventually, after inquiring a number of times … he was told not to ask again, and if he did, he would not receive an answer,” Mtingwa said. “So that last experience made him decide to leave his U.S. collaboration and to join one in Japan.”

Mtingwa said these sorts of stories are common and that he hoped to quantify them through the survey.

“Just about everybody has heard complaints about challenges obtaining visas to the U.S.,” he said.