Is it worth going to America for higher studies? New rules in US make it impossible for international students to live a dignified life!
Kara Chopra, Special Correspondent
September 19, 2004

New rules on issuance of Social Security Card to International students make it impossible to live a dignified life. The degradation of human rights issues for alien students in US (Americans call foreigners aliens!) continues that really started in 1981 when Ronald Reagan took office. It is estimated that 23% of revenues for all Universities in US comes from hefty tuition they charge to international students. International students seldom receive scholarships. They are often used as slaves to teach with below minimum wage in US. Ph.D students are abused by their professors during dissertations and passing the qualifying exams. Now the new rules will make it even harder for the F1 (foreign) students to live that will have any dignity attached to it. 

American Universities cannot manage their business. The cost of tuition is escalating at the speed of a meteor. Many of them are trying to squeeze money from public though on-line education scams! Many are moving to India to offer degree over there and suck some more from the Indians. Continuing education is another larger scam. Most of the Universities promise jobs and not many students really get one these days with sluggish stagflation economy of US. Even if you come to US as a student and receive your degree, your chance of getting a job is very slim. Eventually you will have to work with a “Desi” company who will make you work day and night with little pay with the promise of a green card. Most of the “Desi” companies do not qualify to provide you the green card any way. Many students are getting temporarily married to Americans for the green card. These marriages break up in no time with “Desi” student socially stranded in the middle of world corridor

Life is really getting tougher for international students in the US! A social security number may no longer be a matter of simple application for them, for those holding an F-1 visa. The US Department of Homeland Security has revised its rules on assigning social security numbers (SSN) to international students. As of October 13, F-1 visa holders will have to, like all other applicants, submit evidence of age, identity, immigration status, and work authorisation. The purpose for such stringent requirements: security. As per the new requirements, the F-1 student must have an employment authorisation document (EAD) from DHS or be authorised by the educational institution for curricular practical training. Otherwise, the international student must provide evidence that he or she has been authorised by the institution to work and has secured employment or a promise of employment before a social security number is assigned. Educational institutions have expressed reservations about the effectiveness of these changes. Instead, it is felt that the changes will result in unnecessary additional burden and hardships on certain F-1 students and the universities in which they are enrolled. The new rule limits issuing social security numbers to F-1 student visa holders who have secured employment. The rule will pose a problem to students on fellowships and those unable to secure employment. A social security number is crucial for life in the US. Without it, it becomes nearly impossible to rent apartments, open bank accounts, apply for credit cards and loans, and obtain driver's licences. It would make studying in the US a difficult proposition for most international students. To make matters worse, because international students are technically eligible for a social security number, they can’t be issued the alternative individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs). In other words, international students will find it difficult to obtain any one of the crucial identifications required for a functioning existence. Universities and educational institutes also find that the new rule runs counter to the existing on-campus employment regulations. Besides this, institutions feel that additional resources will now have to be allocated to assist those F-1 students who are denied social security numbers. For its part, the social security administration believes that the new rule will restrict misuse of social security numbers "further enhance the integrity of SSA's enumeration processes for assigning SSNs by reducing the proliferation of SSNs used for purposes that are not related to work".