COVID-19, as blazoned by the World Health Organization (WHO), is one of the worst pandemics in decades throwing the entire world into disquietude including international students and study abroad aspirants. Your mind is probably stormed with scads of questions regarding your already existing student visa or the one in which you are on the verge of applying. The hours are precarious; howbeit the governments around the world have come together to fathom the challenges and we are hopeful that the world will look up soon. The time is uncertain and the news is getting altered unremittingly. While our foremost advice to you would be to refer to the international student offices of your universities for any immediate concerns and queries, this is not unlikely that you might be missing out on some indispensable visa-related information.
Already received an admit but still waiting for your visa? In such a situation, you should presently focus on preparing your financial documents and visa application and keep them ready, so that you can apply immediately once the visa process opens.
If you have already received your visa, keep in touch with the university to get the latest updates on the semester commencement date or if for now, they are planning to move online.
Departments of immigration have been proactively assisting students who might be feeling exceedingly apprehensive due to their upcoming visa expiry. New Zealand is granting visa extension right away on a case-to-case basis. If multiple sources are to be believed, the ones in NZ waiting for further application of visas are approved interim visas enabling them a six-month stay extension while the application assessments are done.
If you are staying in a country that currently is encountering the second/third waves of the outbreak, it is advisable not to travel. In case you have already left or got evacuated while the visa has also expired simultaneously, keep in touch with the embassy to understand your next maneuver.
This is a major concern among the international students who have already applied for their work visas such as the Optional Practical Training, abbreviated as OPT in the United States of America.
An Indian international Student (also a Manya alumnus) who has been staying in the US for last four years on the student visa shared with us that she cannot come back to India for there is an imminent chance that President Trump would impose a border closure and she will not be able to return in the next two months at the least. She has also told us that she will be able to stay in New York in the course of her OPT application but once done matters are looking “highly dubious”.
Truth is said, there is no indisputable answer to this question. The entire world is in a state of limbo and while some countries have already exercised strict travel bans and campus closures including India, many others are still taking these considerations somewhat leniently. So, the best thing to do right now is to be patient and remain open to all kinds of possibilities until the pandemic takes its own course of action (hopefully declination)!
The advising specialists and visa experts in Manya-The Princeton Review have been working from their home round the clock to provide any information/assistance that comes their way. Don’t be hesitant, contact us from any part of the world and we shall provide you with the most authentic update.
Follow the guidelines! Don’t panic! Be safe! We all are in this together!
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