![\"<i>Inception<\/i>,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8e8ed2e58b5382a16ce920043ac2fd4fc88b70814b9a23a8ad11500f9b6f03ed.jpeg\")
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Inception, an oil on panel painting by Tianzheng Dang, on show during his solo exhibition in Paddington.Credit: Dang Tianzheng<\/p>\n
His art often portrays family members and friends of different ethnic backgrounds that he met while a student at Brisbane State High School.<\/p>\n
With his four-year course in Providence commencing in August, Dang now faces the possibility of commencing late, or not at all.<\/p>\n
Associate Professor Anna Boucher, a University of Sydney expert in immigration policy, said any complexity added to the visa process, such as social media vetting, would slow down an already slow process.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerica has very high backlogs,\u201d she said. Often with backlogs, it was \u201csimply not enough people in an immigration department compared to the pressures on the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s also against the broader context of administrative cuts in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the US Consulate General in Sydney said there were many potential students applying in the run-up to the start of the academic school year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn every case, consular officers will take the time necessary to ensure an applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States and that he or she has credibly established his or her eligibility for the visa sought,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
The US State Department website has a guide to visa appointment wait times<\/a> at all embassies. When this masthead checked, the next available appointment in Sydney for an F visa was in one month\u2019s time.<\/p>\n Dang\u2019s painting of school friends titled Memories Amidst the Study.Credit: Dang Tianzheng<\/p>\n Complicating matters for Tianzheng is the fact he is not yet an Australian citizen and had to apply for the F-1 on a Chinese passport.<\/p>\n Tianzheng was born in Shanghai and moved to Brisbane with his family in 2018 at the age of 12.<\/p>\n In May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the US was revoking student visas for Chinese students and would enhance its scrutiny of future applications.<\/p>\n![\"Dang\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/e047da28553f28ebcf085cbc36c0e75207cf808711a027ed4d4a2597ccc99c37.jpeg\")
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