JEDDAH, 28 November 2005 — Saudi students with scholarships to study in the United States are struggling to get their visas in time for admission. Students say that it’s a nerve-wracking period of time. It’s a limbo in Jeddah because they are stuck between their university deadlines and the American Consulate closure.

Among the students who shared their stories is Mohammed Ali, an undergraduate student. After he finished his I-20 procedures, which are completed at the consulate, he discovered it was closed. “It’s been closed since Nov. 1,” Ali told Arab News, “and they said it would reopen by the 14th, but it didn’t,” he said.

The US Consulate General in Jeddah announced on Nov. 12 that its visa section will remain closed for administrative reasons until further notice.

Many young Jeddawis are scrambling to deal with the closure. Some are turning to the US Embassy in Riyadh, but the additional applications and the closure have created a crunch in the capital city. Others are just at a loss about what to do.

“My friends in Riyadh advised me not to go to Riyadh because they themselves are finding difficulties in getting early appointments,” he said.

He and his colleagues hope the Jeddah consulate reopens soon so they can clear the visa hurdle. The alternative may be missing a semester of study.

Alia Muhsin, a graduate-degree seeker within Saudi Arabia, said her younger brother already has missed one semester of overseas study, and now she fears bureaucracy may force him to miss two.

“He didn’t attend here because of his joy over getting a scholarship to the States,” Muhsin said. “Now he’s starting to regret that — especially when he sees his friends who already are studying while he is not.”

“Scholarships have a limited time range so any delay is to the disadvantage of the student and will cause him complication,” said Um Mohammad, a miffed mother of a stuck student. “It’s been one of the priorities for the US to encourage us to send our children to America to study, especially after 2001. What is happening now is not very encouraging.”

Since 2000, Saudi students who are living in the States have held a website forum, called www.saudiclub.us/almoltaqa/, to discuss their concerns, obstacles and help each other. Some have started to offer their contact information including the city in which they are studying in so when new students arrive in the same city, they can offer newcomers needed help.

Among the posted forums available there, the talk recently has turned to scholarship woes. Saudi students clamber for any information, even rumors, about the reopening of the consular offices or additional staff arriving.

Some students with plans that start in the fall 2006 semester are offering their early appointment times to those hoping to attend winter terms, though it is unclear if consular officials will allow substitutions.

According to Noha El Charif, information assistant at the US Consulate General in Jeddah, the consulate is closed due to administrative factors and will remain closed until further notice.

“As soon as we receive any information regarding the reopening, it will be released in the press immediately,” she said.

“We are very much aware of the situation these students are going through, and that is why we are trying our best to help them complete their procedures,” said Carol Kalin, counselor for public affairs at the US Embassy in Riyadh, noting that applications have increased tenfold in the last year. “Because of that reason we are overwhelmed and can barely accept applications from the Eastern Province. Although we did accept to complete visas for Jeddah students before, we didn’t accept any for the meanwhile due to the large numbers we are dealing with from the Eastern Province,” she said.

Kalin added that many arrangements are made between the US missions in Jeddah, Riyadh, Washington and the universities in the States. “We know it might be difficult for them to be there on time,” Kalin said, “but they need not to worry. We’re doing our best to help them.”