No visa for World Cyber Games 2007

I read with interest the article written by Chong Jinn Xiung in The Star, Saturday 30 September 2007.

To say that they were disappointed would be a gross understatement. They qualified for the grand final of the World Cyber Games 2007 competition in Seattle this October 3rd and the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur denied them visas. That was what happened to these 4 Malaysian cybergamers, despite all the official documents by the local WCG organisers and the fact that they were invited to participate in the competition.

The reasons? Well, one of them was a student and he was denied a visa because he studies medicine in Indonesia. Another one was because his income is too low to be granted a visa and that he does not hold sufficient property here in Malaysia. God knows what the other two were told when their applications were rejected.

I agree that the decision whether to grant visas or not to the applicants rests solely with the US embassy, but looking at the reasons given to these guys.. I mean, really.. can't you be more realistic? Besides, these guys were going there for a competition. Not for sightseeing or studying or whatever. Surely some considerations could be made. Give them short-term visas, for example, valid only during the duration of the competition.

I'm sure that this competition meant a lot to these guys. It's the grand final and to be able to qualify.. it's any gamer's dream come true. To be denied at the last minute though, it's really a nightmare.

I'm extremely sorry for these guys.