https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-leads-colleagues-in-letter-calling-on-state-department-to-clarify
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt) led seven Senators in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on the State Department to update its student visa adjudication guidance to ensure that all qualified students have an equal opportunity to continue their academic journey in the United States. The Senators’ letter cites data from the past eight years obtained from an investigation into the State Department’s student visa denials showing students from African countries were denied at significantly higher rates than those from other regions of the world.
The Senators urged the Department to clarify guidelines used to examine applicants’ intent to remain in the United States, which reports suggest may place students from developing countries at a disadvantage when interviewing with State consular officers.