Read on Twitter
Up until 9 months ago (green card 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Folded hands" aria-label="Emoji: Folded hands">), I was on an F1 visa for 13 years. This last measure is unbelievably cruel but perhaps you don& #39;t realize how many other hurdles international students face. This is what it was like for me https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="RĂźckhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: RĂźckhand Zeigefinger nach unten"> #StudentBan #InternationalStudents 1/n
Step 1: Apply to college, get accepted. That& #39;s where it ends for US citizens & permanent residents. For undergrads and MS students, you first have to show the school that you already have the $$ to pay for tuition AND everything else for yr 1 - they issue an I-20 #StudentBan 2/n
You then take that I-20 to apply for a #F1visa and it& #39;s up to the consul to decide whether your family has enough $$ to pay for your education. The consul that reviewed my visa app for undergrad almost denied me mine. I was almost in tears during that entire appt #StudentBan 3/n
My family is upper class in Colombia but my parents are professors, we didn& #39;t have an unlimited supply of $$. We barely had enough in our accounts to pay tuition for the 1st semester. Eventually, the Consul approved my #F1visa. It was a traumatizing experience. #StudentBan 4/n
So... tuition, I went to @UTAustin, a public school. So I had to pay out of state tuition - about $12k/semester when I started in 2006. A ton of $$ converted to pesos. I had a small scholarship from @ECOPETROL_SA but mostly my parents sacrificed a LOT #StudentBan 5/n
I went to school during the & #39;08 crisis. To make up for the financial losses, tuition increased to $15k in 2009. From freshmen to 5th year (& #39;11), we saw an increase of 30%. My tuition subsidized in-state students. I understand why this happens but it was HARD #StudentBan 6/n
Like most students at public schools, I had a job (at @UTSangerCenter - BEST employers on campus https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="â¤ď¸" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz">). What you might not know is that we can only work on-campus and for max 20 hrs/week. I didn& #39;t need to more work but other int& #39;l students did #StudentBan 7/n
Let& #39;s talk orientation... Ours are usually shorter than for domestic students and even MORE crammed. I& #39;ve never understood how you& #39;re supposed to absorb anything. I was SO overwhelmed that the only thing I remember from those 3 days is getting lost on Lavaca St. #StudentBan 8/n
Actually, I remember VERY little about my first 3 weeks here except for meeting the incredible people in my residential FIG community. Why aren& #39;t int& #39;l freshman automatically enrolled in a semester-long program to make sense of the American school system??? #StudentBan 9/n
My academic advisors at @UTBiomedical, my first-year engineering interest group, and the residential FIG community are the reasons I started college so well. I had quite honestly very little support beyond that. It& #39;s honestly a miracle it turned out well. #StudentBan 10/n
Being away from home is SO hard and on top of that you have to perform at the very top (remember how much $$ my parents were investing??) in another language. I had a leg up bc I grew up attending a bilingual school and it was still really hard #StudentBan 11/n
Maybe you& #39;re thinking, but Ana, why didn& #39;t you apply for scholarships? I couldn& #39;t! International students (particularly at undergrad) aren& #39;t eligible for 99% of scholarships. Thank goodness though that @UTBiomedical had my back and did nominate me for a couple. #StudentBan 12/n
Pro-tip for international #Longhorns, if you do win a $1k+ scholarship that Texas students have to compete for, the school will waive the out-of-state portion of your tuition that semester. That& #39;s how I was able to buy a car. #StudentBan 13/n
Ok so if we add up all the tuition I paid for (minus the scholarships), my family and I invested ~$110k in tuition alone. That& #39;s even without adding lodging, food, textbooks, clothing, etc... I am privileged enough to be able to buy a lot of stuff every year #StudentBan 14/n
Let& #39;s talk about wanting to go to grad school. You& #39;re supposed to have as much research experience as possible. Thankfully, the @UTWEP program paired me up with @lab_schmidt to get going. If it weren& #39;t for WEP, I wouldn& #39;t even have known where to start #StudentBan 15/n
It& #39;s really common for applicants to have summer research experience too and guess what... we also AREN& #39;T eligible for most of these programs. I applied again and again to the few I could and I was only accepted into one in my 4th summer #StudentBan 16/n
So when you tell me everyone has an equal chance of getting into grad school bc it& #39;s merit based, I call major BS. It was REALLY hard for me and I even have the privilege of having gone to school here. It& #39;s WAAAAAAAAAAY harder from abroad #StudentBan 17/n
Thank goodness people are starting to realize #GRExit is the way to go. I tortured myself studying for the stupid verbal portion in the summer of 2010 AND I had already been living in the US for 4 years speaking English every day. Imagine doing that from Colombia #StudentBan 18/n
Now I& #39;m in grad school. Even if you go to school in the US, still gotta apply for a new #F1Visa. At least with a PhD in STEM it& #39;s easier bc your lab has funding for you. Remember how the 1st appt traumatized me though, I was SO nervous for that appt https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ¤Ł" title="Lachend auf dem Boden rollen" aria-label="Emoji: Lachend auf dem Boden rollen"> #StudentBan 19/n
Now, in grad school I honestly had a leg up compared to other international students bc I already knew how American schools work. Grad students get even less useful info than undergrads though. The orientation is pitiful #StudentBan 20/n
OH!! I forgot to mention the I-20 doc that proofs you can be a student here, has to be signed by a school official every year. Remember how I forgot all about orientation? I didn& #39;t realize that and almost had problems at the border coming back for Sophomore year #StudentBan 21/n
Moving from @UTAustin to @UWMadison was a shock because there were a lot fewer Latinx. So, I started experiencing what it was like to be minoritized but programs that help people deal with these issues are designed for US citizens & permanent residents #StudentBan 22/n
Success in academia is partially measured by ability to obtain funding & AGAIN I wasn& #39;t eligible for most fellowships/grants. I applied to EVERYTHING I could & eventually won a fellowship @american_heart. I was lucky, outside of biomedicine, opportunities are few #StudentBan 23/n
In grad school, you don& #39;t have the big breaks of undergrad so I could travel to see my family less often and I was physically further away. Studying abroad is hard and I& #39;m lucky, for Colombians, our visas can be 4-5 years so we don& #39;t have to renew every time #StudentBan 24/n
In all my time as a student, I NEVER experienced the anti-immigrant environment of today. I never had to worry about getting kicked out or not being allowed in (do the math- I graduated in 2016). Heck, I messed up once (when Bush was in office) and it was ok! #StudentBan 25/n
Ok moving on to postdoc, an #F1visa is a non-immigrant category so it didn& #39;t matter that I had been here for 11 years at that point, there& #39;s no direct path to residency just bc you were a student here. #StudentBan 26/n
I had 2 options for my postdoc. Decided against a #J1visa bc that has a 2 year home requirement and chose to extend my #F1visa through OPT (Optional Practical Training). I actually couldn& #39;t go home for the Holidays the year I graduated bc my OPT took too long https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Nachdenkliches Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Nachdenkliches Gesicht"> #StudentBan 27/n
At that point, I decided I couldn& #39;t live in the limbo of my immigration situation anymore and sought council from Sandra Bruno at @MillerMayerLLP. She encouraged me to apply for permanent residence through the EB-2 process + national interest waiver. #StudentBan 28/n
It took several months of gathering all the supporting docs and rec letters (100+ pages of evidence) and ended up investing a ton of money on this. If I hadn& #39;t done it, the last proclamation would have severely affected my ability to join @UFBME next year. #StudentBan 29/n
While I waited, I applied for OPT STEM - so yeah, I had one of those too. And reminder: this is NOT a partisan issue. OPT STEM was established by George W. Bush. #StudentBan 30/n
Ended up having to wait 14 months for my green card approval. A process that is taking increasingly longer under this administration. I couldn& #39;t leave the country during ~6 of thoseThe same process used to take ~6 months during the Obama years. #FoodForThought. #StudentBan 31/n
I am telling you this not so you feel bad for me. I& #39;m on the other side with a faculty job lined up. I made it and I had a great time during most of it. I love living here. I just want you to understand the daily weight that international students carry #StudentBan 32/n
If my story tired or upset you, think about this: I am VERY privileged. I had a lot of financial help from my parents, 0 student loans, a bilingual education growing up, legal documents, the ability to go home, etc... Many aren& #39;t as lucky as I am #StudentBan 33/n
Also, we as international students and high-skilled workers are very charismatic but we are not that special. The only difference between me and many undocumented immigrants is that life dealt me a better hand. We are all people and we deserve your support #StudentBan 34/n
Please do help us in fighting both the proclamation banning #J1 and #H1B visas and this latest attack on #F1visas. But PLEASE don& #39;t stop there. I rarely see faculty or stuff advocating for international students/staff. Don& #39;t forget about us #StudentBan 35/n
International students, do you have other experiences you want to share? Add them here below or send them to me anonymously via DM and I& #39;ll post them on a separate thread https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="â¤ď¸" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz">. I will never forget the last 13 years of my life and will ALWAYS fight for you #StudentBan 36/36
I can& #39;t believe I forgot to add that people told me all the time that being an international student wouldn& #39;t matter for faculty apps. My response in gif form below... I have a 36-part threadhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="âď¸" title="Zeigefinger nach oben" aria-label="Emoji: Zeigefinger nach oben">on why it does matter. Just freaking read it and internalize it #FuturePI #StudentBan
Forgot to mention another one of my privileges: I am visibly Latina but Iâm also light-skinned. International students who are Black have the added burden of facing deep racism and colorism. #BlackAndSTEM #BlackLivesMatter https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt="">
https://twitter.com/jhancsalazar/status/1281285264648830981?s=21">https://twitter.com/jhancsala... https://twitter.com/jhancsalazar/status/1281285264648830981">https://twitter.com/jhancsala...
https://twitter.com/jhancsalazar/status/1281285264648830981?s=21">https://twitter.com/jhancsala... https://twitter.com/jhancsalazar/status/1281285264648830981">https://twitter.com/jhancsala...
