The announcement of the US mission in Turkey earlier in October that it had cancelled all non-immigrant visa services over “the security of US mission and personnel” caused concern that it may affect hundreds of Turkish citizens, as student visa applications and general visitor visas, obtained for attending conferences and other business or academic events in the US formed a big part of the entire B1/B2 category, according to Seda Duran, a consultant with Global visa consultancy services in Istanbul.

The situation may have the most impact on those students who have made down payments for their programmes. The students willing to apply for the Work and Travel programme will also be affected by the situation if the dispute is not resolved until early next year, as the recruitment starts in spring.

IIE’s Open Doors reports that 10,691 students from Turkey were studying in the US in the 2015/16 academic year. The same data indicates that last year Turkish students contributed $423 million to the US economy, according to the US Department of Commerce .

Logical way as it seems, Turkish students are now exploring the possibility of studying in the UK, Canada and Malta. Recent Study UK Days visitor numbers show significant increase: 2600 visitors in 2017, comparing to 1600 last year.

For further information please contact Semra Yalcin (Semra.Yalcin@britishcouncil.org.tr).