Chemistry graduate student Conju (Maggie) Chen may return to Wesleyan as early as next week after spending several months stranded at home in China. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing received confirmation of Chen’s security clearance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on October 31, and will likely have her visa renewed within the next few days.
“I got a call from the U.S. Embassy today…I will see the visa officer in Beijing next Monday,” Chen wrote in an email on October 31. “If everything goes fine, including air ticket, I can be [at] Wesleyan next week.”
Chen left the country in mid-August for a short visit with her parents. She submitted her application for a renewed student visa on August 12. The embassy initially denied the renewal of her visa, claiming that further security checks were necessary before granting reentry. Chen has since been under review by the embassy, the FBI, and, she speculates, the state department.
For the past three years, Chen has lived in Middletown with her husband and fellow Wesleyan graduate student Rong Liu. As a third year doctoral student, she works with Professor of Chemistry Irina Russu on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Assistant Director of Graduate Studies Marina Melendez said that Chen’s field of research may have alarmed some U.S. officials.
“Because she is a graduate student in the sciences she’s treated a little differently than an undergraduate in the liberal arts… [Her application] goes through a lengthier process,” Melendez said.
Visa applicants like Chen are now placed under intense review as a result of President Bush’s directive entitled “Combating Terrorism Through Immigration Policies.” The directive, designed to secure U.S. borders, includes a screening process for foreign students and intellectuals, particularly those specializing in fields linked to weapons technology.
Melendez fears that by limiting student travel, the government is also limiting the exchange of knowledge and world experience.
“Colin Powell said, ‘secure boundaries, open door,’ which is sort of a misnomer,” Melendez said. “There’s a tension between how you make things secure and how you make them friendly. If it’s made too difficult for [foreign] students to come here they will be looking elsewhere, like England and Canada, and I think we will be losing magnificent amounts of brain power.”
Chen’s visa renewal process is now in its tenth week and it is likely detracting from her studies.
“We feel like [this] is crawling along,” Melendez said. “Every day that she’s away takes away from her career here. I think she’s a delightful person, just wonderful, a stellar student, so this is very frustrating.”
According to Russu, Chen’s prolonged absence has certainly been noticed. Because Chen was a beloved teaching assistant as well as an outstanding student, everyone in the chemistry community at Wesleyan is greatly anticipating her return.
“She will get back to work immediately. She’s very eager to do so,” Russu said.
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