CHARLESTON, Ill. (WAND)- International enrollment at Eastern Illinois University has dropped over 50% from fall 2024. Many students are concerned about the impact this will have on their college experience.
"Every day I wake up and I say, 'God, my funding should not be taken away from me.' My funding should not be cut because if it happens, it means that I cannot continue to study here in the U.S," said Eric Senyo, an EIU graduate student.
Senyo is a second-year grad student from Ghana and the president of The Ghanaian Student Association on campus. He is on a four-year visa as he pursues his education, but he explained the potential causes for the massive enrollment decrease. Visa processing delays, funding obstacles and other federal immigration policies make it more difficult for international students to attend school in the U.S.
Senyo said international students from Ghana are heavily affected.
"This year we had over 300 to 400 people applying to Eastern, and fortunately, all of them got admission. But surprisingly, only seven people got their visas approved. So, this year we had only seven new students on campus. And it was so sad that the numbers have actually gone down," Senyo said.
The visa process is costly; Senyo paid $185 twice to get a visa. Ghana had no appointments for visa interviews, so he traveled to another country where appointments were available. New federal policies say an individual cannot go to another country to get a visa, and approved temporary visas are given for only three months. During that three-month process, you can leave the U.S., but the individual cannot return if they leave.
"Sometimes you don't get an appointment. In my case, my admission came in, and then my funding came at the end of July, at the end of June. So I had just one month to prepare and come to the US. I had to be on the bus for 18 hours. I had to be on the bus for 18 hours to cross to two different countries to go and interview for the visa," Senyo said.
In an effort to assist other international students, Senyo is working with EIU administration to make the college process smoother.
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