This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SANAA 003471 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR S, R, ECA (DPOWELL), ECA/A/S/A, NEA/PPD 
(AFERNANDEZ, CWHITTLESEY), IIP/G/NEA, INR/R, CA/VO/I, CA/VO 
(GEORGE LYNN) 
THE WHITE HOUSE PASS TO NSC 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM KPAO SCUL OIIP CVIS XF YM
SUBJECT:  STUDY IN THE U.S. -- IT'S GOOD FOR YEMEN -- IT'S 
GOOD FOR THE U.S. -- BUT THE NUMBERS ARE WOEFULLY SMALL 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  As was the case throughout the MENA region, 
the number of Yemeni students applying to study in the 
United States plummeted after 9/11.  The good news is that 
the trend line is positive -- our numbers are slowly 
climbing after bottoming out in 2003.  The bad news is that 
even with a more than fifty percent increase in F1 visas 
since then, the total number for 2005 will end up well below 
half that of 1999.  An examination of the visa numbers 
shows, moreover, that to the extent overall numbers are 
climbing, it is largely a reflection of considerably higher 
exchange program numbers (J1 visas) and is only marginally 
related to increased F1 students.  To the extent that 
continued increase in the numbers is possible, it will 
require a sustained and enhanced commitment to the array of 
exchange programs for which Yemenis are eligible and eagerly 
participate.  Over the long term, sending more Yemenis to 
the United States on the USG nickel is the best investment 
we can make in the future of this country and our bilateral 
relations with it.  We need to dramatically increase funding 
for full four-year undergraduate study and post-graduate 
exchanges. 
 
A Slow Recovery in Yemeni Student Numbers 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Table 1 (following) provides the number of issuances for 
each type of student visa by year since 1999 (January 1 to 
December 31): 
 
TABLE 1: STUDENT VISAS BY TYPE 
 
YEAR --  F1 --  J1 -- M1 -- TOTAL 
1999 -- 199 --  41 --  5 -- 245 
2000 -- 168 --  38 --  2 -- 208 
2001 -- 116 --  45 --  0 -- 161 
2002 --  69 --  73 --  0 -- 142 
2003 --  47 --  72 --  0 -- 119 
2004 --  62 -- 110 --  0 -- 172 
2005*--  70 -- 105 --  2 -- 177 
 
*2005 numbers are as of December 6. 
 
¶3. The number of issued F1 visas shows a dramatic decline 
after 9/11, bottoming out in 2003 at only 24% of the 1999 
numbers.  Although post has seen F1 visa issuances rise from 
47 in 2003 to 70 as of YTD 2005, the final tally for 2005 
will be far lower than even half of the 1999 high.  To the 
extent that the total number of student visas issued has 
recovered at all from 9/11, it is through J1 visas, which 
have risen over 250% between 1999 and the present.  The 
burst in J1 visas is largely attributable to the birth of 
several new exchange programs, including the PLUS and YES 
programs as well as MEPI's Summer Institutes. 
 
Reasons for the Decline and Prospects for the Future 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶4. Anecdotal evidence from Yemenis suggests several reasons 
for the decline -- and for the failure of post to bring 
numbers back up past the existing plateau.  The primary 
reason is that Yemenis, like many Arabs and Muslims today, 
are very anxious about traveling to the United States.  In 
YES and PLUS interviews, and in briefing sessions with 
departing International Visitors, candidates' apprehension 
often is palpable.  Horror stories about lengthy 
interrogations at airports and about harassment of Muslims 
and Arabs, whether or not true, abound and move swiftly 
through the current of Yemeni society. 
 
¶5. Several other reasons account for the continuing low 
numbers.  Post has experienced several disruptive closures 
in the past three years as well as an occasional reduction 
in NIV staffing, undoubtedly hampering post's NIV processing 
capacity.  Education in the United States is expensive, 
moreover, and with the rise of American universities in the 
Gulf (particularly in the UAE and Kuwait), many Yemenis find 
that they can have their cake and eat it too -- obtain a 
prestigious degree without having to travel to the United 
States.  Moreover, regardless of whether the odds of 
obtaining a visa are lower in the post-9/11 world (they are 
not, for qualified candidates), the process is perceived as 
more drawn-out and complex.  This perception, moreover, 
largely accords with reality - additional, post-9/11 
clearances can take weeks to complete. 
 
¶6. The available low-cost university education in countries 
such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and India has become 
increasingly attractive for Yemenis exploring their higher 
education options.  This is true both for self-funded 
individuals and for the direction of scholarship money from 
the ROYG.  Dr. Ali Al-Shour, Deputy Minister of Higher 
Education, candidly acknowledged that the ROYG will 
increasingly direct its scholarship funds toward South and 
East Asia, given the low cost.  One departing International 
Visitor noted that the association of Yemeni students in 
India is over four hundred strong. 
 
¶7. Notwithstanding the previous, the prestige of an American 
university degree remains unparalleled.  Post has seen 
robust application figures for the Fulbright Master's Degree 
program (80 applicants in the most recent cycle), and 
American university graduates generally have their pick of 
professional options upon their return.  A very abridged 
list of senior Yemeni officials with American academic 
training (all of whom, moreover, are considered among the 
more favorably-inclined toward the United States) includes 
former Prime Minister and current head of the Shura Council 
Abdulaziz Abdulghani, former Prime Minister and current head 
of the ruling GPC Party and advisor to President Saleh 
Abdulkarim Al-Iryani, Minister of Information Hussein Al- 
Awadi, Minister of Human Rights Amat Al-Alim Al-Soswa, Vice 
President of Sana'a University Ahmed Al-Kibsi, and Yemen 
Observer Publisher and Deputy Press Secretary to the 
President Faris Al-Sanabani.  All of these individuals 
regularly cite their American academic training as part of 
the basis for their eventual leadership positions, and in 
many cases are the most vocal proponents themselves of 
United States university experience for Yemenis.  Al-Kibsi, 
for example, serves on the board of the Fulbright alumni 
association and regularly and eagerly participates in the 
Fulbright interview process. 
 
¶8. At present, most Yemenis studying at American 
universities are self-funded, and therefore represent an 
elite stratum of society.  A handful of ROYG scholarship 
students continue to travel to the United States for 
university education, mostly the children of high-ranking 
officials with close contacts to the Presidency.  [Note: 
Independent weekly Al-Wasat published an expose on August 11 
on the use of Ministry of Oil scholarships to support the 
education in the United States and elsewhere of the children 
of high government officials.  Immediately after publication 
of this report, Al-Wasat editor-in-chief Jamal Amer was 
abducted, threatened, and assaulted.  End note.]  And, of 
course, the creation of new exchange programs has allowed 
post partially to make up the difference in numbers.  The 
YES and PLUS programs, as well as the previously-existing 
International Visitor program and Fulbright and Humphrey 
fellowships, now account for a far higher proportion of 
total student visas than before. 
 
Conclusions 
----------- 
 
¶9.  Post cannot overstate the value of Yemeni students 
studying in the United States.  Students and exchange 
program participants return not only with increased skills, 
but also with a visibly changed impression of the United 
States.  Responses from several recently returned 
International Visitors support this conclusion.  Member of 
Parliament Shawqi Shamsan, who participated in a summer 2005 
IV program, returned to Yemen energized and full of ideas 
about improving critical thinking skills in Yemeni schools. 
Nabil Al-Sofi, a prominent Islah-affiliated journalist and 
editor-in-chief of NewsYemen.Net, returned from his IV 
program and promptly published several articles praising the 
legal regime and framework of the United States.  And Heba 
Hassan, a Taiz University student leader and intern with the 
Human Rights Information and Training Center, singled out in 
particular a visit to a synagogue during her fall 2005 IV 
program as an experience that helped her appreciate the 
religious diversity of the United States.  Post places 
strongly emphasizes American academic exchange in its public 
diplomacy programming, and works together with the 
EducationUSA centers in Yemen to promote student exchange. 
However, the factors pulling Yemenis away from study in the 
United States are difficult to overcome.  Post strongly 
recommends an increase in exchange program funding so that 
this critical pipeline for mutual understanding can be 
widened. 
 
KRAJESKI