Sludge by Cass R. Sunstein

Author:Cass R. Sunstein
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: sludge; nudge; paperwork; paperwork burden; Paperwork Reduction Act; Sludge Audits; Life Admin; Administrative Burden; Pamela Herd; Donald Moynihan; Elizabeth Emens;
Publisher: MIT Press

Students must also pay a nonrefundable application fee of $160 (a different fee from the previously mentioned SEVIS fee).97 Payment of this fee is sometimes not possible through a credit card online, and methods vary widely across countries (in Singapore, for example, payments are made through the local post office).98

Many international students find it challenging to comply with the specifications of the DS-160 photo. Because the requirements are quite detailed and extensive, and also differ from normal passport pictures, applicants may be required to visit an embassy-recommended professional studio to take the picture, which costs additional time and money.99

5. Once a student has submitted a DS-160, she may then schedule an interview at a US embassy or consulate. That may take up to several weeks. Visiting times at the US embassy vary widely and can take from a few hours to almost an entire day (the embassy in London, for example, estimates an average of two to three hours of waiting time).100 The visit itself will also involve a security screening and the taking of the student’s fingerprints prior to the interview.101 Visitors are not allowed to carry their cell phones or other electronic devices.102 The interview itself usually takes only a few minutes and often focuses on the students’ ability to finance their stay in the United States and their commitment to return after their studies to their home country.

After the completion of the interview, the applicant is usually informed immediately about whether the visa has been granted or denied.103 Once the visa has been denied, there is no recourse, unless new information is presented and the procedure is restarted. It is possible, however, that the responsible officer will determine that the application warrants “further administrative processing,” which usually occurs when the applicant appears in certain databases (e.g., prior visa overstays, security risks). This may require the student to submit additional information and can extend the visa processing time significantly. In 2019, the allowed time for administrative processing was extended from 60 days to 180 days.104

In sum: The normal application process involves at least four different forms, two separate payments totaling $510 (with different payment rules and restrictions), and at least one visit to a US embassy, which is typically located only in large urban centers. The entire process takes at least one to two months under normal conditions. There is also a significant chance that a visa will be rejected. In 2019, for example, more than 25 percent of F-1 visa applications were rejected.105

This summary of the sludge encountered by international students in the United States is not exhaustive. Nor is it meant to suggest that the relevant burdens should be reduced by 75 percent, or 50 percent, or 25 percent, or even 10 percent. Most of them serve legitimate purposes; some of them are undoubtedly designed to discourage people from trying. But the question remains: How many of them could survive some kind of cost-benefit test?

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