The United States has 'fixed' its post-9/11 student visa application procedures and now welcomes Malaysian students, including Muslims, to pursue their education over there.

Assistant Secretary to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Maura Harty said the US has improved on its visa policy seen as 'discouraging to international students, foreign visitors and business travelers'.

"So I come here today to say it again that we welcome you, we value you, and we really would like to see more Malaysians enrol in the US," she added during a discussion in Kuala Lumpur with students and representatives from education institutions.

Although security is always a priority to citizens and visitors, the US ensures that this does not affect or impede the access of those people that is welcomes, she said.

"The delay that we saw in 2002 and 2003 are things of the past," she told some 100 participants at the Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange (Macee) office.

According to Harty, ninety-nine percent of the visa applications from Malaysian students have been approved.

Safe for Muslims

Responding to a question from the floor regarding the safety of Muslims in the US, she assured the audience that Muslims will not be discriminated or demeaned.

She cited the example of a man who had travelled to the US seven times since the 9/11 incident dressed in traditional Omani attire and had not encountered any problems.

Harty explained that some visa applicants were rejected because they failed to convince the interviewing officer that they intend to return to their country of residence after a finite stay in the US.

"They are unable to demonstrate that there are things in their country that will compel them to return after a temporary visit," she said.

Harty noted that Malaysia continues to be among the top 20 countries in terms of the number of students in the US.

According to the guidelines for visa application, as posted on the US embassy website, applicants aged between 14 and 80 will be interviewed by a consular officer.

Students down

"Most of the applicants receive their visas the next business day after the interview. Some applications from males between 16 and 45 may take longer to process - about two to three weeks on average," read the guideline.

The number of Malaysian students enrolled in American institutions of higher learning have been on the decline since the Asian financial crisis and 9/11 incident. From an already low 9,000 in 1999/2000, the figures dropped to about 6,000 in the 2004/05 school year.

The sharpest decreases were reported from predominantly Muslim countries including Pakistan, Indonesia, and those form the Middle Eastern region.

International students brought US$13.3 billion to the US economy last year in money spent on tuition, living expenses, and related costs, according to the Association of International Educators.