In the wake of the war on terrorism, the United States government has made it tougher for international students to obtain study visas, but Southeast Missouri State University has remained relatively unscathed by this and has not seen a marked drop in the number of international students.

Part of the reason is likely because the university's international population is largely made up of Asian, specifically Japanese, students. The university has had close ties with several Japanese student recruitment agencies since the 1980s.

"We've remained fairly steady," said Adelaide Parsons, director of Southeast's Center for International Programs. "It's a little to early to tell about fall semester."

According to Parsons, the university presently has 198 international students, while the average number in past semesters has been around 200. Close to 50 percent are Japanese.

"I do think it is because of our ties with Japan. We have a strong bond that we take advantage of," she said. "We don't have a population from the Middle East, because of that we won't be as affected by the changes."

In addition to the international students seeking degrees at the university, there are also exchange students that are in America for three to eight months.

The university has an exchange programs with Aicha University and Daito Bunka University in Japan. "We've matured these relationships and there's a sense of loyalty," Parsons said.

This sense of loyalty, perhaps, is what has kept the Japanese students coming even after the visa application process was tightened.

In 2002, President Bush signed into law The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act, which outlined a new set of requirements for those wishing to attain visas. Among other things, the act requires potential students from all countries to provide more information about themselves through documents and interviews. It requires students from countries -- considered sponsors of terrorism, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria -- to undergo background checks.

In instructor Michele Slinkard's intensive English language class, four of the nine students are from Japan. The others students are from South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan and Malaysia.

None of Slinkard's students said they had problems obtaining a visa, but Varian Chin, a student from Malaysia, said authorities were very strict about the process. Chin also said he had an easier time because he was Chinese and not Muslim like a large percentage of Malaysians.

John Campbell's beginning intensive English language class is made up entirely of Japanese students that arrived in the country three weeks ago.

"It depends entirely on the country they're coming from," Campbell said of the visa problem. "Coming from Japan, it's not a problem, although there is a longer wait."

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, one of the reasons the wait is longer is that students have to be interviewed by someone at the U.S. embassy in their country.

Coming to Cape Girardeau from Turkey, teaching assistant and student Ahmet Eftelioglu said it took him about eight hours to get to his country's embassy for his visa interview. He said it cost him $16 just to obtain a pin number to set up the interview.

"If you set your mind to it, you're going to get here somehow," Eftelioglu said.

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182