For some grads, stipends fall short

Challenges for international graduate students don't stop after they recover from jet lag: Once they adjust to American culture, and even after they secure their visas, there's still a major price to pay.

Graduate students at Penn on fellowships - research-intensive Ph.D. programs that cover tuition - receive monthly stipends, usually about $2,000, that are meant to cover basic necessities like food, rent and clothing. But that $2,000 can disappear furtively when those students, depending on their visas, must incorporate their families' health care into their already tight budget.

And so, in an attempt to alleviate this financial burden, some students have begun to speak out.

Lucas Champollion and Walter Hakala, both third-year School of Arts and Sciences graduate students, are currently working on a proposal that seeks to help international students plagued by these problems.

The two are currently putting together a plan that will ask the University to cover health care for international students' children.

Employment opportunities for international students' spouses - that would, ordinarily, cover health care - depend on the kind of visas they are issued, Rodolfo Altamirano, director of International Student and Scholar Services, said.

Two types of visas are issued to international students - F-1 and J-1 visas. Married students' visas correspond with their husband's or wife's - an F-2 or J-2 - Altamirano explained. F-1 visas are provided to full-time students enrolled in academic or language programs, while J-1 visas are for those who require supplementary training relating to their academic program.

Though spouses who have J2 visas are permitted to work in the U.S., "under no circumstances may [an F2] spouse or dependent work in the United States," Champollion said.

While Champollion is not directly affected by these issues, Hakala became involved after he was forced to buy health insurance for his wife, who is from Korea.

And the financial challenges don't disappear for those on J1 and J2 visas.

"Even when a spouse can work, it's still not easy," said Keren - a second-year graduate student at the Annenberg School of Communication with a J1 visa - who moved from Israel two years ago with her husband and daughter.

Keren would not disclose her last name because she wanted to respect her husband's privacy.

Keren's husband, who has a J2 visa, works part time as a clinical psychologist, she said. But it took him six months to receive his work permit, a process that should have only taken two to three.

"If you don't come with the resources to begin with, it's hard," she said.

And, sometimes, even getting the job isn't enough.

Income earned by a spouse with a J2 visa cannot be used for health care at all, Hakala said.

As a result, Keren must allocate part of her stipend for her daughter's health care and cannot use part of her husband's income.

As Champollion and Hakala's nascent proposal gets underway - no concrete action has been taken yet - the two are calling on their peers to get involved.

The only way to study the issue is for affected and concerned students to speak up, Altamirano said.

Still, he remains optimistic that the newly formed International Student Advisory Board - a newly formed group of 35 international undergraduate and graduate students that will explore issues affecting international students - will be a useful resource for dealing with this problem.

"We have to find answers and be creative," said Altamirano, who will advise the board.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.