OMAN CONSIDERS PUBLISHING WARNING ON STUDY IN THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000567 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/PPD (DBENZE),NEA/ARP, CA, ECA, R DHS PASS TO RHMFISS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2017 TAGS: PREL OEXC SCUL KHLS KPAO CMGT CVIS MU SUBJECT: OMAN CONSIDERS PUBLISHING WARNING ON STUDY IN THE U.S. Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusef bin Alawi told the Ambassador during a June 2 meeting that the government is considering publishing an announcement in local media warning Omanis of the possibility of detention by U.S. law enforcement authorities if they choose to study in the U.S. Citing the cases of two Omani students in the U.S. who were arrested and allegedly mistreated for simply not maintaining sufficient credit hours to be considered full-time students, bin Alawi said that he could not encourage Omanis to study in the U.S. "in the current climate." (Note: In both cases referred to by bin Alawi, the Omani students reportedly fell below the required number of credit hours by dropping a university course from their schedules. Both claimed that they were in the process of adding a different course, but were arrested before they could complete their registration. End Note.) ¶2. (C) The Ambassador countered that the cases of these two students, while regrettable, were isolated events and not representative of the experiences of the vast majority of Omani and other foreign students in the U.S. He added that the U.S. had worked hard to streamline the visa issuance process for students, and that other countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, were attempting to expand the number of their nationals attending schools in the U.S. Bin Alawi, however, seemed unmoved by these arguments. ¶3. (C) Comment: Publication by the government of a warning to Omanis considering studying in the U.S. would likely deal a tremendous blow to our efforts to promote educational opportunities at American schools. The fact that just two cases of alleged abuse of Omani students by U.S. authorities could prompt such a move illustrates the resonance of these types of stories and the importance of treating all foreign students, even those who may unwittingly break the rules, in a reasonable and appropriate manner. Post will try to dissuade the Omani government from issuing such a warning, including by conducting pre-departure briefings for students at the Ministry of Higher Education and elsewhere. Nevertheless, the issue of the treatment of Omani students in the U.S. will likely continue to be a sore spot for Oman and a potential obstacle to post's goal of restoring F-visa issuance to pre-9/11 levels. End Comment. GRAPPO