Latest news with #KittyWu
South China Morning Post
28-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
‘My plan is ruined': Hong Kong students aiming for US in limbo as visa interviews halted
Hongkongers looking to pursue tertiary education in the US are grappling with uncertainties as the country has halted scheduling student visa interviews, with consultancies expecting possible online class arrangements for remote learning or university applicants changing their choice of destination. Advertisement Kitty Wu, director of Litz USA Student Service, a Hong Kong-based education consultancy specialising in education in America since 1989, said on Wednesday that her company had experienced difficulties in scheduling interviews last week and could not make any reservations on Tuesday, hours before the US government order was reported later that night. According to a diplomatic cable on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed America's embassies and consulates worldwide to stop scheduling student visa interviews as the Trump administration considered more expansive social media vetting of applicants. Wu noted that social media screening had started earlier, with applicants required to leave their usernames for the consulate's inspection. Students still had time to settle their visa applications before the academic year started in September, she said, but only if the scheduling of visa interviews was resumed swiftly. Advertisement 'If students cannot receive their visa on time, I believe some schools will arrange online programmes,' Wu said, noting that institutions also held virtual classes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
South China Morning Post
28-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong students aiming for US universities in limbo as visa interviews halted
Hongkongers looking to pursue tertiary education in the United States are grappling with uncertainties as the country has halted scheduling student visa interviews, with consultancies expecting possible online class arrangements for remote learning or university applicants changing their choice of destination. Kitty Wu, director of Litz USA Student Service, a Hong Kong-based education consultancy specialising in education in America since 1989, said on Wednesday that her company had experienced difficulties in scheduling interviews last week and could not make any reservations on Tuesday, hours before the US government order was reported later that night. According to a diplomatic cable on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed America's embassies and consulates worldwide to stop scheduling student visa interviews as the Trump administration considered more expansive social media vetting of applicants. Wu noted that social media screening had started earlier, with applicants required to leave their usernames for the consulate's inspection. Students still had time to settle their visa applications before the academic year started in September, she said, but only if the scheduling of visa interviews were resumed swiftly. 'If students cannot receive their visa on time, I believe some schools will arrange online programmes,' Wu said, noting that institutions also held virtual classes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
South China Morning Post
18-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Hongkongers eyeing US universities despite student visa crackdown: consultants
Hongkongers are pressing on with applications to pursue tertiary education in the US despite Washington's moves to revoke hundreds of international student visas, consultants have said, noting that parents are still drawn to the quality of the country's universities. Advertisement A spokesman for the US consulate in Hong Kong told the Post that President Donald Trump's administration was focused on protecting the country, its citizens and visitors, to ensure national security and public safety. Education consultants in the city said the visa revocations had little or even no impact on the decisions of Hongkongers, with the US already having declined in popularity as a study destination in recent years. Kitty Wu, the director of Litz USA Student Service, a Hong Kong-based education consultancy specialising in US education since 1989, said the sentiment among parents would not be affected in the short-term. 'Our clients going to the US to study are still having 100 per cent of their visas approved and no [Hong Kong] student already studying in the US got their visa revoked,' she said. Advertisement Some reports about the more than 300 visa revocations said the moves came without any warning or recourse for appeal or corrections.
