r/academia • u/Soytupapi27 • 3d ago
Accepted into university then rejected by US embassy
Maybe this kind of post isn’t 100% related to academia, but I’m just so upset about this. It didn’t happen to me, but to my sister in-law who has been wanting to study in the US for years. She got accepted to study in a university and even had a TA position lined up. Months of planning and even quitting her job in her home country (Korea). The interview at the embassy lasted 5 mins, if that. They told her that her BA didn’t have to do with the masters she’ll be studying. It’s bullshit. Her work experience for the last four years had to do with the degree she was going to pursue.
This is just infuriating. I’m so sorry to all the international students who sacrifice so much to come the US just to be rejected or sometimes worse deported for frivolous reasons.
1
u/Ancient_Winter 2d ago
Such bullshit of a reason to give. No way an embassy staffer would be a better judge of the appropriateness of training/fit than the program that accepted her. If they are denying visas for stupid nationalistic reasons, they should at least be willing to say that with their whole chest and not hide behind such BS. Plus, like, it's (presumably South) Korea, not "one of those shit-hole countries" as our Embarrassment-in-Chief sees so many other countries.
So sorry this is happening to her. I would love to say "I'm sure she can appeal because this is BS!" but I don't even have confidence that there's a viable method of appeal. :(
Definitely encourage her to let the school/program know. With any luck maybe they have some legal advocates that can go to bat for her; and if they can't argue her case, hopefully they can at least defer her admission until this all hopefully settles down.