Hi,
I am syrian, who is living in KSA. I just finished high school and I want to apply for a US university. Given the circumstances, what are my chances for being accepted by embassy. Is there anything I should know?
when you have your visa interview, make it absolutely clear that you do not plan to stay in the US after you finish your studies.
@happymomof1 thank you. Do you know if I should directly state it, like : I will leave the US as soon as I finish my education. Or like indirectly like : I need to come back to my parents when I finish.
@gameplayer1234 Option 2 seems like you are not trying to game the system. Option 1 seems too aware. I’d wait for the question arose though. You need to go back to your family. Looking to using your education back home. Your family is relying on you.
Have you contacted the Education advisor at the US Embassy in Riyadh? That person would be best able to answer your questions.
@gearmom thank you very much. I hope this helps me get approved
@janesmith no I did not. I dont even know what is an education advisor. Like this person would tell me what is best to say during the interview?
@gameplayer1234 The best of luck to you. Come back if you have more questions.
Contact the Education advisor at the embassy–are you in Riyadh? I believe there’s a US consulate in Jeddah but your best bet for info is the embassy. He or she can give you advice on applying to US universities, how to pay for it, and the visa process. (There is no US embassy in Syria now, for obvious reasons; there’s just the START group at the US embassy in Ankara, which is no use to you since you’re in KSA now.)
@gameplayer1234 Here’s a link to info on education in the US from the US embassy website:
@janesmith Thanks for the info and link. I am sure this will be of a benefit for me. Appreciate it.
Honestly, I would not bet my future on being able to secure a US visa. The current political climate is not in your favor.
As a national of Syria, you would currently be denied entry under [Executive Order 13780](Executive Order 13780 - Wikipedia). That order is set to expire in the next 1-2 months, but it seems likely that the current administration will seek some other restriction on the entry of Syrian nationals after the current order expires. That new restriction will most certainly be litigated and may or may not hold up in court eventually… It could easily take a year until that’s resolved. Meanwhile, you wouldn’t know if you’d be able to get into the country to attend college at all.
You will have a lot fewer headaches if you plan for college in another country. Maybe Canada?
@b@r!um I know that Syrians were banned from entry, but as I know that this ban is on hold right now. And also I know a friend who is also syrian that was approved for the f1 visa 3 months ago, but still that was a miracle or something like that. But yeah most likely I will also apply to canada of course. I already have that in mind. Do you have other country suggestions that are good to study in and is easy to get in?
I suspect your friend got his visa while the order was on hold. It has been “back” in force since a Supreme Court ruling on June 26, with a number of exemptions.
Best case scenario, we go back to the standard visa process and US consulates are instructed to be extra insistent on “binding ties” to a foreign residence for visa applicants from undesired countries. That criterion, when taken literally, is almost impossible to satisfy and is used to deny non-immigrant visas to a majority of visa applicants from some countries.
Canada and Australia are said to have generous immigration policies for college-educated professionals in the English-speaking world. If you are on the market for a permanent home, those might be good locations to consider for college. If you have a specific country in mind that you want to live in after college (e.g. KSA), you’ll want to research which degrees will be helpful for you there. (E.g. if I wanted to live in the US, I would attend a US or Canadian university. If in Germany, I’d attend a university in the European Union.)