International
students fight for on time visas
By
Charlotte Hsu
& Robert Faturechi
Daily Bruin
LOS ANGELES (U-Wire) — Deise Ponce, a UC-Santa Barbara student, showed
up shortly before 4 a.m., a full four hours before the Spanish Consulate on
Wilshire Boulevard opened its doors.
Ponce, like many UC students hoping to study abroad in Spain this fall, was
forced to make the early-morning trek to Los Angeles after hearing word that
the consulate — flooded with last-minute visa requests — had begun
turning people away.
The Los Angeles consulate — the only one serving Southern California
and adjacent regions — now accepts only the first 25 applicants each
day, forcing students to line up outside the consulate doors hours before its
8 a.m. opening.
Students said the policy was not posted on the consulate’s Web site,
though it is mentioned on an answering machine there. EAP counselors recently
informed UC applicants to arrive early to the consulate.
Ponce, who lives in the San Fernando Valley and recently graduated with a degree
in sociology, is hoping to live in Alcala for four months this fall, finishing
up coursework for her Spanish minor.
She had come to the consulate the Friday before, but was turned away at the
door because of the institution’s new daily applicant cap.
“Summer is a really busy time for the consulates,” said Bruce Hanna,
spokesman for the UC Education Abroad Program. “There are probably some
cases in which students will not be able to go because they were not able to
get their visas in time.”
Hanna attributes the system backup to a bout of one-upmanship among consulates
that was triggered after the United States implemented stricter visa regulations
following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“Both consulates are very much aware of what the other ones require, so
there’s a natural tendency that if one country says ‘you’re
going to need more documentation’ for the other country to respond in kind.”
Some newly added documents required by the Spanish consulate include guarantees
of financial support, housing, insurance, health and a drug-free lifestyle,
Hanna said.
Some of the 50 UCLA students who planned on studying in Spain will likely be
stranded in Westwood this fall, Hanna said, adding that he expects EAP to refund
any students left behind.
A doorman let everyone into the lobby at 7 a.m.
Just before 8 a.m., a representative of the consulate began handing out numbers
to applicants, in the order in which they had signed in.
Upstairs on the eighth floor, Ponce was first to the window.
She flashed a small grin to weary onlookers as she turned to head out after
submitting her paperwork, and the room broke out in a light applause. |
