VOA慢速英语2019 舞厅舞者担心美国的移民政策（在线收听）

Ballroom Dancers Worry Over US Immigration Policies

When no Americans answered Chris Sabourin's advertisement seeking a dance teacher for her Connecticut-based studio, she looked outside the United States.

But Sabourin faced difficulty there as well. Limitations on U.S. visa requests restricted her search. She and others argue the new rules are harming the ballroom dance industry.

当没有美国人回答克里斯·萨布林（Chris Sabourin）为其位于康涅狄格州的工作室寻求舞蹈老师的广告时，她看上去在美国以外。

但是萨布林在那里也面临困难。 美国签证申请的限制限制了她的搜索。 她和其他人认为，新规定正在损害舞厅舞行业。

Sabourin spent a year and thousands of dollars trying to employ a top ballroom dancer from Greece. But when she arrived American officials detained the Greek woman at New York's Kennedy Airport. Then, they sent her back home.

萨布林花了一年和数千美元试图聘请一位来自希腊的顶级舞厅舞者。 但是当她到达时，美国官员在纽约肯尼迪机场拘留了这位希腊妇女。 然后，他们把她送回家了。

"It would just be nice to know why we're having such a hard time," Sabourin told the Associated Press, or AP, news agency. "It's affecting our business, definitely."

She says the popular television program Dancing with the Starshas fueled interest among Americans in learning dances like the foxtrot and tango. But dance studio owners say efforts to employ professional teachers are limited without international help.

萨布林对美联社说：“很高兴知道我们为什么会遇到如此艰难的时光。” “这肯定会影响我们的业务。”

她说，受欢迎的电视节目与星沙共舞激发了美国人对学习诸如狐步舞和探戈舞之类的兴趣。 但是舞蹈工作室的老板说，在没有国际帮助的情况下，聘请专业教师的努力是有限的。

Owners and legal experts say many requests for visas are going unanswered. They say evidence requests from officials are increasing and that sometimes what is asked for has already been provided or is not necessary.

Immigration law experts say President Donald Trump's administration has created barriers that have made hiring more difficult for all kinds of U.S. industries. This includes ballroom dance as well as science and technology.

业主和法律专家说，许多签证申请都没有得到答复。他们说，来自官员的证据要求在增加，而且有时要求的要求已经提供或不必要。

移民法专家说，唐纳德·特朗普总统的政府制造了障碍，使各种美国行业的招募更加困难。这包括国标舞以及科学技术。

In January, the American Immigration Lawyers Association released a report on data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The organization found that average case processing time increased 46 percent from 2016 to 2018. In late May, the Government Accountability Office told lawmakers that it plans to investigate the report's findings.

The AP took a look at federal records and found a small increase in first rejections of O-1 visa requests, the usual kind sought by foreign dancers.

1月，美国移民律师协会发布了一份有关美国公民和移民服务局数据的报告。该组织发现，从2016年到2018年，平均案件处理时间增加了46％。5月下旬，政府问责办公室告诉立法者，它计划调查该报告的调查结果。

美联社查看了联邦记录，发现首次拒绝O-1签证申请的人数有所增加，这是外国舞者通常会寻求的一种。

The AP also found a decrease in the number of times individuals were given a second chance to meet the requirements for the visa.

Jose Zuquilanda had visited the U.S. many times on tourist visas. He had hoped to compete, train, teach, dance and learn how to run a business through employment at an American studio in Connecticut. He went far through the O-1 visa process before a final denial at an American diplomatic office in his home country of Ecuador.

美联社还发现，个人获得第二次满足签证要求的机会有所减少。

Jose Zuquilanda曾以旅游签证多次访问美国。他曾希望在康涅狄格州的一家美国工作室竞争，培训，教书，跳舞和学习如何通过就业来经营企业。在他的祖国厄瓜多尔的美国外交办公室最终被拒绝之前，他经历了O-1签证程序的漫长过程。

"They are not only harming his career, they're harming the Fred Astaire studio," said Zuquilanda's mother, Liliana Serrano, who lives in Connecticut.

Immigration legal experts point to the "Buy American and Hire American" executive order Trump signed in April 2017 as one reason for delays. The order was meant to increase earnings and employment rates for Americans by strongly enforcing immigration laws.

Zuquilanda的母亲莉莉安娜·塞拉诺（Liliana Serrano）说：“他们不仅损害了他的职业生涯，而且损害了Fred Astaire工作室。”

移民法律专家指出，特朗普于2017年4月签署的``购买美国人并雇用美国人''行政命令是延误的原因之一。该命令旨在通过严格执行移民法来提高美国人的收入和就业率。

Mark Krikorian is executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports greater immigration controls. He says that he feels sorry for small business owners, but they should not blame federal immigration policy for their labor problems.

"It's one thing if you're talking about world-renowned nuclear physicists, where there's a handful of people on the planet who have an ability and we want them here. Everybody gets that," he said. "Dance instructors? I'm sorry. That's something for the market to deal with."

马克·克里科里安（Mark Krikorian）是移民研究中心的执行主任，该中心支持加强移民控制。他说，他为小企业主感到难过，但他们不应该将劳工问题归咎于联邦移民政策。

他说：“如果您谈论的是世界知名的核物理学家，那是一回事，地球上只有少数人有能力，我们希望他们在这里。每个人都能得到。” “舞蹈指导员？对不起。这是市场需要应对的问题。”

A representative for the U.S. Department of State said there has "been no policy change" dealing with the O-1 visas.

Michael Wildes is an immigration lawyer for first lady Melania Trump and her family. In a newspaper opinion piece, he argued that legal experts working for fashion designers, models and photographers have experienced never-before-seen levels of "push-back" from immigration officials.

美国国务院的代表说，处理O-1签证“没有任何政策变更”。

迈克尔·王尔德（Michael Wildes）是第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普（Melania Trump）及其家人的移民律师。他在报纸上发表的一篇文章中指出，为时装设计师，模特和摄影师工作的法律专家经历了移民官员前所未有的“推后推”。

He warned that many skilled and creative non-Americans might stop seeking work in the US if the process continues as is or slows further.

他警告说，如果这一过程继续进行下去或进一步放慢，许多熟练和有创造力的非美国人可能会停止在美国寻求工作。

Words in This Story

studio – n. a place where people go to learn, practice, or study an art, such as singing, dancing, or acting

hiring – v. giving work or a job to someone in exchange for wages or a salary

tourist – n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure

world-renowned – adj. known and respected throughout the world

lawyer – n. a person whose job is to guide and assist people in matters relating to the law

fashion – n. the business of creating and selling clothes in new styles

model(s) – n. someone who is paid to wear clothing or jewelry in photographs and fashion shows so that people will see and want to buy what is being worn

creative – adj. having or showing an ability to make new things or think of new ideas