Staying in the States could get a bit easier

e discussed recommendations on streamlining the visa process for foreign students last week, a move that comes as the number of foreign scholars in the United States is rising. At Penn, the international-student population jumped by about 800 students last year compared to the year before, said Rodolfo Altamirano, Director of the Office of International Programs, and some foreign students said they welcomed efforts to ease the visa process. A main issue the House Subcommittee on Research and Science Education considered was having the State Department reissue visas in the United States, rather than requiring foreign students to return to their home countries. Roberto Salguero-Gomez, a Ph.D. Candidate in Biology, said this recommendation was especially important. "It would save a lot of money and make things more convenient," he said. "Especially because students are supposed to be broke." It will also make students less fearful of losing their visas should they return home, Salguero-Gomez said, citing one friend who had not seen his family in almost six years because he feared losing his visa. Foreign-scholar visitation rates dropped sharply following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, as the United States cut visa rates, amid imposing measures aimed at improving national security. But about 20,000 more students came to study in the United States during the 2006-2007 academic year than in the previous year - an increase of 3.2 percent, and a return to pre-Sept. 11 levels. Easing the visa process for international students makes sense, Altamirano said. "They may end up leaders of their countries, future presidents and prime ministers," he said. Foreign students contribute about 13 billion dollars to the U.S. economy annually, according to testimony in the House from Tony Edson, deputy assistant secretary of state for visa services. In Philadelphia, 10 percent of all international visitation is in some way educational, according to Fritz Smith, vice president of tourism for the Philadelphia Convention and Tourism Board. Fritz also said there are just under 10,000 international students in the greater Philadelphia region.