Prior to commencing their studies at NYU Abu Dhabi, at least three students admitted to the Class of 2020 have had their visas rejected or delayed by the UAE. This means that these students will not be able to begin their studies until January Term at the earliest.

This is not the first time that students have had to delay their studies due to visa issues. In a Facebook thread discussing the delay, students from the Class of 2018 and the Class of 2019 also shared their experiences of having their visas delayed or rejected. All the students who said that their visas had been previously delayed were nationals of countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt.

Incoming freshman Doğukan Avcı and rising junior Majed BouGhanem both suggested that their nationalities, Turkish and Lebanese respectively, were the reason for their visas being delayed.

In an email to The Gazelle, the Dean of Students Kyle Farley wrote, "It has not been our experience that all students from any specific country will consistently experience a delay with visa processing, so we cannot make any assumptions about who will experience a delay in their visa."

Tunisian alumnus Imen Haddad had high praise for the university’s response and spent the beginning of the fall semester in New York before being flown to Abu Dhabi when her visa was approved 10 days later.

“I was amazed by the support and special care that NYUAD staff and faculty had offered me throughout that process, and I realized that this university was the best fit for me. I received daily phone calls from the [then] Dean of Students, Julie Avina, and from other admissions staff,” wrote Haddad.

In contrast to Haddad's experience, Avcı was only offered the possibility of commencing his studies in J-Term. Similarly, BouGhanem was given the choice of either starting during J-Term or attending NYU Polytechnic — now known as NYU Tandon — but without the financial aid that was offered to him to attend NYUAD.

Farley noted, "We work closely with the student to identify alternative solutions — which include starting school in the spring semester or deferring their admission until the following academic year. It is not an option for an NYUAD student to first begin their studies in New York as our priority is integrating the student into the NYUAD community as soon as their visa is approved."

Farley also noted that he personally spoke with each student experiencing a delay. "I am impressed with how understanding and patient they have been," he wrote.

In a written conversation with The Gazelle, Avcı noted, "This is not an incident that would make me change my university decision." Like Haddad, Avcı went on to praise the university’s response. He also praised the NYUAD student body for the support he had received from them, saying, "The aid I received from students was the main morale booster. The support I acquired made me feel [like] a part of the NYUAD community.”

BouGhanem had less praise for the university's response; in written correspondence, BouGhanem noted that the "complete lack of updates didn’t help." He was disenchanted with NYUAD, and felt that the process that he went through demonstrated the distance between the ideals of the global university and the realities of citizenship.

"NYUAD is a place that respects and appreciates diversity and the idea of global citizenship, but I just found my situation very ironic; one can get accepted and funded, but can’t actually go there because your entry relies on a booklet that apparently defines who you are," wrote BouGhanem.

Haddad saw the university as breaking down the barriers that are imposed by passport regulations, noting, “You have to work with what you got to get the best outcome and try to affect as many people as you can, that’s what NYUAD is doing one student visa at a time.”

Timing was also an issue for students, who only found out about the visa delays after having rejected alternative offers in accordance with academic integrity conventions and the Common Application’s regulations.

"By the time I was told of the delays, I had lost all the alternatives — I had rejected my other offers beforehand … Of course if I had known of the high probability of the four months delay, I would have left my other choices open," said BouGhanem.

Farley also identified this as an issue, writing, "We recognize that students will have likely turned down offers at other institutions, so we do everything we can to ensure they can attend NYUAD."

Avcı suggested that students should be told of the possibility of their visas being delayed prior to beginning the visa process, if not during Candidate Weekend.

Farley noted, "We are looking at how to best manage expectations around this process for future students as the class sizes increase."