Student visa issue keeps Tchewa home in Cameroon for now
TAMPA, Fla. (Aug. 23, 2022) – South Florida students returned to Tampa over the weekend and began traversing campus Monday to attend classes. Something senior center Russel Tchewa can only look forward to doing – hopefully soon.
The 7-foot, 280-pounder went home to Cameroon during the summer to be with family while his father battled COVID-19. While back in his native land, Tchewa tried out for, and made, the Cameroon National Team. He was set to play for his country in a FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament.
He made the team. Then came the bad news.
Due to a student visa issue, Tchewa was unable to travel with his teammates.
At a Tuesday press conference, Bulls head coach Brian Gregory informed the media that Tchewa is not currently with his teammates.
“Russel had not been home in four or five years, so we set it up” Gregory started off. "He went back to Cameroon and had all the paperwork because he had to re-up his student visa. In two-days he had his student visa passport stamp and was able to spend a month there. Our plan, heading into this summer was for him not to go home this summer.”
Unfortunately, Tchewa’s father became very sick and he asked Gregory if he would be able to go home for three or four weeks to see his family. That led to where things are right now.
“We are continuing to assist Russel in his attempt to get his student visa approved from Cameroon to the United States,” said Gregory. “It has not happened yet by the United States. It’s been a lengthy process; we’ve coming on four months right now. His initial meeting was May 9. Our athletic department has done a tremendous job with international players. So, we understand the process of getting the student visa. We understand the importance of doing the proper vetting. We understand that throughout the country there’s a lot of visa processes going through. It is our understanding that Russel’s application has been flagged. There is no issue regarding Russel, that is pertaining to the flag or anything from our knowledge and the information that we’ve received. So, we’re hopeful that as this process continues, and it’s expedited and so forth.”
USF has plenty of international students during its history so, helping one of its students through a situation like this is nothing new.
“In terms of South Florida’s international offices, they’ve been a tremendous asset,” Gregory said. “We’ve solicited and asked for and received tremendous support and service from a lot of governmental agencies and representatives, senators, congressmen, different things like that as well, in terms of helping us and trying to get the assistance that we need. We’re remaining in constant contact with the State Department for as much information as they can give, as is Russel. We’re in constant contact with Russel on a daily basis. I had another Zoom call with him this morning.”
Academically, Tchewa is doing his best to take his classes online and avoid falling behind.
“Russel is scheduled to graduate in December and then start his master’s degree in January. So, a big issue was the classwork. He’s doing all his classwork remotely. It’s difficult because of time differences and, where he lives, the availability of proper Wi-Fi and so forth. It’s a challenge.
At the end of the day, ultimately, what this is all about is Russel Tchewa’s welfare and the ability to access all the opportunities that is afforded to him as a student here at South Florida.”
As you might suspect, this has been a stressful process to go through for Tchewa.
“To be quite honest, this has been a strain on him and a strain on his family,” Gregory acknowledged. “Where he’s from, his family is not accustomed to having Russel around this long and maybe not built for that as well. Having a 7-foot, 270 guy. The grocery bills are going off the chart. So we’re hopeful that, as we continue to move forward, that we could have this done as quickly as possible.”
Toward the end of last season Tchewa was one of the best post players in the American Athletic Conference. He led the team in total rebounds (166) and offensive boards (61). Tchewa was durable, appearing in in 29 games, making 27 starts and averaging 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. As the season progressed Tchewa got better and better averaging 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds over the final nine games of the year. He scored a career high 18 points at ECU (2/23/22), recorded three double-doubles, including an 11 point and 10 rebound performance in the AAC Tournament game against UCF.
We are 76 days away from the start of the USF 2022-23 basketball season. Hopefully Russel Tchewa's status can be cleared up and he will be back on campus soon so he can run with the Bulls.