Creator: Maranca, Alessandra Rister Portinari
Creator: Jayasinghe, Dharshani Lakmali
Abstract: Alessandra Rister Portinari Maranca explains in detail the difficulties that she experienced in obtaining the American visa
to come to Stanford because the US Embassy and consulates were closed in Brazil due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains
how her interview was cancelled multiple times by the embassy, and how she could not apply for her visa through Brazil, her
home country, although she had already paid the visa fee. She describes how she decided to apply for the visa through a different
country, and the harrowing experience of applying to and finally obtaining the American visa through Ecuador. Additionally,
she speaks about life at Stanford University as an international student, and highlights the challenges she faced in adjusting
to a new life in the US as a freshman in college. She also speaks about the difficulties she experienced during the Fall 2020
quarter when she was taking classes while in Brazil, including a five-hour time difference. In reflecting on the visa system,
Alessandra uses the words "helplessness," "restricted," and "scary" as the words she associates with the visa.