Bush Administration in Saudi Student Crackdown?

NewsMax ^ | 8/15/02 | Limbacher

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

In a sign the Bush administration may finally be cracking down on unfettered immigration from Saudi Arabia, hundreds of Saudi college students who had returned home for the summer break are having trouble getting their visas approved for another year's study in the U.S.

"The Saudi Ministry of Higher Education has announced that steps are being taken to help such students continue their studies in some Arab universities if they are not issued U.S. visas in time," reports the Web site ArabNews.com.

An additional one hundred students sponsored by Saudi-Aramco to study in the United States have not yet been issued visas, ArabNews said, even though the date to report to many U.S. universities is just two weeks away.

One student complained that he had applied for his student visa at U.S. Embassy in Riyadh on June 26 but had yet to be approved. Further delay would almost certainly disrupt his studies in the U.S., he said.

Several of the nineteen 9-11 hijackers, including ringleader Mohamed Atta, entered the U.S. on student visas. 15 of the hijackers came from Saudi Arabia.

In one embarrassing snafu, the Immigration and Naturalization Service even approved a new student visa for Atta so he could attend a Florida flight school - six months after he died while carrying out the World Trade Center kamikaze attacks.

[EggsAckley]

Ahhhhh.........nothing like the smell of GOOD news first thing in the morning.
Thanks for cheering up a very dreary day. :o)

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Here is the story referenced by NewsMax: 

Vacationing Saudi students worried

[Flyer]

In a sign the Bush administration may finally be cracking down on unfettered immigration from Saudi Arabia

Ah, The Stealth President at it again.

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[Corin Stormhands]

Stopping Saudi student visas is only a drop in the bucket.

True. But it's a start and something we couldn't have done eleven months ago.

[lavaroise]

This is actualy routine for any student from any other nation. Why the Saudis had a free pass before compared to French or German students still baffles me. And to have the Saudis now b!tch because they lose royalty status is even more disgusting.

[sweetliberty]

" But it's a start and something we couldn't have done eleven months ago."

In my opinion it is the FIRST thing we should have done 11 months ago.

[EggsAckley]

I see your point, but it IS a start. At this point, even a drop in the bucket helps. Perhaps it's "testing the waters" prior to addressing the other immigration issues. One can hope. (they say optimists live longer than pessimists. hehehe.)

:o)

[1Old Pro]

During this war on terror we should suspend ALL student visas.

[JohnHuang2]

Sorry about the duplicate. Thanks for posting.

[JohnHuang2]

Sorry about the duplicate. Thanks for posting.

[MissAmericanPie]

I hope with all my heart that you are right about that.

[Bill Davis FR]

if you are going to war against saddam you better roundup the illegal saudis and send them to mecca...

[EggsAckley]

Just looked at your profile page, and I must tell you, I LOVE your photos. Only looked at one page, and my two faves are the brick, and the clock. Awesome.

[xJones]

"The Saudi Ministry of Higher Education has announced that steps are being taken to help such students continue their studies in some Arab universities if they are not issued U.S. visas in time," reports the Web site ArabNews.com.

This does present a problem. Try naming one famous, first rate Arabic university anywhere. And Saudi Arabia itself is not co-educational. And the educational facilities for females are less than good, to put it mildly. Although even the Saudis are not as bad as the Afghani Taliban, those wonderful Islamics who forbade any education for girls. But I digress, name one Arab university of any note, at least in this or the last 500 years.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

How would the Saudis react to Americans studying immunizations on their turf?

[Flyer]

I LOVE your photos. . . Awesome.

Aw, gee. . . thanks.
< /blush>

ValerieUSA (if I have the screen name correct) does a lot of Texas photos and one of these days we are going to have a photo 'shoot off'.

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[lavaroise]

How would the Saudis react to Americans studying immunizations on their turf?

LOL!! Can we bring our frat boys and girls and party bash in the sand? LOLOLOLOLOLOLO!!!!