Facing problems obtaining the necessary visas from the Spanish consulate in Chicago, UW-Madison students may have to cancel or postpone plans to study abroad in Spain during the upcoming spring semester.
The consulate serves 13 Midwestern states, including Wisconsin, and must issue hundreds of student visas, according to a UW-Madison International Academic Programs statement.
Due to the large workload and a staff of only two people, the consulate 'arbitrarily and unilaterally' announced it would stop taking appointments for visas, said Catherine Meschievitz from the Division of International Studies at UW-Madison.
Since 9/11, stricter guidelines, like the requirement to apply for and receive visas in person, take more time and work to process, she said.
'This was a quite a surprise, that they would do this so early in the fall,' Meschievitz said.
Despite calling the consulate a week after being notified of her acceptance in October, Kate Heideman, a UW-Madison junior, did not get an appointment until Jan. 11'the day she is supposed to be in Spain. She will have to travel back to Chicago during her time abroad to personally pick up her visa.
Heideman thought a solution could be to push the application deadline for study abroad back a few months.
'October is ridiculously late. For the visa you need at least three months,' she said. 'Even if I had scheduled my appointment right away, that still wouldn't have been enough time.'
Matt Oelstrom, a UW-Madison junior, is one student who does have a visa appointment on time.
'I think I'm one of the lucky ones,' he said. 'I'm the only person I know with a good appointment, and I know a lot of people going who don't know what they're going to do.'
Meschievitz said these affected students received e-mails informing them of the predicament and encouraging those who had not yet made an appointment to keep checking with the consulate, in the hope that a spot opens.
Another option for students is through a group appointment UW-Madison made with the consulate, but 'unfortunately, we couldn't get an appointment until January. We took this appointment just in case we are still in this situation,' Meschievitz said.
According to International Academic Programs, if students end up without visas and thus cannot go to Spain, they can apply their down payments to a future semester. However, airline accommodations are more difficult to be refunded.
Despite the obstacles, Meschievitz said the 'goal is to get every student overseas to the Spain program that they signed up for and have been accepted for.'
