New software to help speed up visa process for international students

The University is looking to speed up the way it handles international student visas, purchasing new software to bring the process online for the first time.The software will allow the International Services Office to handle requests from a rising number of foreign students, which totaled 3,560 undergraduate and graduate students this year. It marks the latest big investment to help accommodate an international student population that's expected to reach 15 percent of all undergraduates over the next decade.Greg Leonard, who leads the ISO, said the software keeps track of paperwork for I-20 forms, which are required for all international students but can take several weeks for both GW and the federal government to process.The new software, which Leonard said last year would cost between $10,000 and $18,000, will improve many of the office's functions,apply for china visa in houston from digitizing the forms students submit to the offices to improving communication throughout the process.

Timely completion of those forms is important, Leonard said, because otherwise students could not receive visas on time to attend GW. On rare occasions, he said students' forms are so delayed that they cannot come to the U.S. for at least a semester, a problem that is growing nationally as more universities actively increase international recruitment."It is one of the most difficult steps in part because it's a go/no-go situation. You get the visa and an opportunity to pursue your dreams,China Work Visa application or you don't get the visa and you go back to your home to reevaluate your life's plans," Leonard said.GW has increased services for international students across aspects of the University in preparation for the strategic plan's implementation.

International students typically pay full tuition, a plus for the tuition-dependent University.Tianyu Ye, a senior from China, said waiting for the I-20 to be completely processed can take up to two or three months. He said having clearer instructions from GW's office would also help speed along the process.He added that international students sometimes struggle with filling out standard forms in a language which they typically do not use."It would also be helpful if we can also get an example of how to prepare the financial statements in English. I think that would also be helpful, because we can do it by our own, but our life can be made easier," Ye said.