Day was accepted into a prestigious US art school. Then the social media rules changed

Sydney Morning Herald

2 days ago

He said his accounts did not contain anything controversial: 'Just my art.'
Dang, 19, is already a highly accomplished painter and drawer.
At age 15 he was a finalist in the Lester Prize Youth Competition, and at 17 he made the shortlist for the Brisbane Portrait Prize Next Gen category. A watercolour painting of a white rabbit won him a prize from US Artist Magazine.
His art often portrays family members and friends of different ethnic backgrounds that he met while a student at Brisbane State High School.
With his four-year course in Providence commencing in August, Dang now faces the possibility of commencing late, or not at all.
Associate Professor Anna Boucher, a University of Sydney expert in immigration policy, said any complexity added to the visa process, such as social media vetting, would slow down an already slow process.
'America has very high backlogs,' she said. Often with backlogs, it was 'simply not enough people in an immigration department compared to the pressures on the system.
'And it's also against the broader context of administrative cuts in the United States.'
A spokesperson for the US Consulate General in Sydney said there were many potential students applying in the run-up to the start of the academic school year.
'In every case, consular officers will take the time necessary to ensure an applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States and that he or she has credibly established his or her eligibility for the visa sought,' they said.
The US State Department website has a guide to visa appointment wait times at all embassies. When this masthead checked, the next available appointment in Sydney for an F visa was in one month's time.
Complicating matters for Tianzheng is the fact he is not yet an Australian citizen and had to apply for the F-1 on a Chinese passport.
Tianzheng was born in Shanghai and moved to Brisbane with his family in 2018 at the age of 12.
In May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the US was revoking student visas for Chinese students and would enhance its scrutiny of future applications.
However, that directive appeared to be walked back two weeks later when President Trump announced a trade agreement with China.
In April, Rhode Island School of Design president Crystal Williams announced in a public letter to the campus community that an international student already enrolled at RISD had had their visa terminated.
However, Williams later advised this termination had been reversed.
Its website advises: 'In recent weeks, the US federal administration has enacted a series of executive orders and policy changes that may impact the RISD community and our work.'
'… We anticipate visa applicants may face more rigorous vetting, which could result in longer processing times including administrative processing delays by the US State Department.'
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Boucher said it would be unclear if Chinese students hoping to study in the US were being disadvantaged until the data was available.
'For all the crackdown on international students, I think the Trump administration would realise that it would not be rational in terms of the profit losses from the international student market,' she said.
In the meantime, Dang is awaiting a final decision on his visa application.