Several science, engineering, and educational associations yesterday (May 12) issued a list of recommendations intended to help solve well publicized problems plaguing the US visa application process.

“There is increasing evidence that visa-related problems are discouraging and preventing the best and brightest international students, scholars, and scientists from studying and working in the United States,” according to the statement.

Among the document's signatories were the presidents of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the Institute of Medicine, the American Chemical Society, and the Federation of American Societies for Biology.

“If action is not taken soon to improve the visa system, the misperception that the

United States does not welcome international students, scholars, and scientists will grow, and they may not make our nation their destination of choice now and in the future,” the statement read in part. “The damage to our...

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