US visa hurdles put international students on edge

Instead of the anticipated F-1 visa, a Chinese student received a green slip on Wednesday morning at the United States embassy in Beijing, initiating a waiting period of "about two weeks" for a decision that could affirm or upend his plan to start a master's program in the US in August.

Chris Yang, a senior English major at Beijing Foreign Studies University, received an offer from the University of Pennsylvania for a dual degree in social policy and public administration.

The atmosphere during the interview was notably more tense than it was two years ago when he was preparing to participate in an exchange program in the US, Yang recalled.