Last fall, the Olin Center admitted a class of 12 English-language students from countries including Japan, Brazil, Haiti, Algeria, and Albania, all of whom paid a $250 deposit to come study on Boston’s stylish Newbury Street. On Jan. 6, the school opened its doors to the new class – and not a single student appeared. None of them could get their visas in time, either because of a problem with a government database or because they were simply denied by the State Department. As the government tightens its oversight of student visas, small English-language schools like the Olin Center, completely dependent on foreign students, are especially hard-hit. Olin and 20 to 30 other so-called intensive English programs enroll at least a fifth of the 30,000 foreign students who come to Massachusetts each year. But since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks these schools have lost an average of 25 to 50 percent of their business. At least three companies have closed their Boston branches altogether. Full Story
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