Foreign Students Face Tougher Regulations Since 9/11

is a collection of local stories commemorating 9/11 and its aftermath. Do you have a story to share? Tell us in the comments.

Since 9/11, Laura Emery, an employee of the Berkeley International Office, has watched deserving international students struggle to come to the University of California-Berkeley to complete their education while stifled by U.S. wariness of folks from abroad and complex new rules regarding foreign students.

"Regulations became much more strict for international students," Emery says. "I know an Iranian student whose visa was delayed for two years. I'm sure that he had a hard time getting a job back home because he hadn't finished his degree."

Delaying education for students puts their lives on hold, Emery says, while they postpone their degrees, jobs, economic improvement, and even getting married and having a family. "It has sort of a domino effect,” said Emery.

She says that now, 10 years later, the situation has improved a little and students are able to get visas faster, but it's still difficult to be a foreign student who wants to come to America.