VOA慢速英语--新学期开学，留学生未能获得美国签证

Classes Starting, But International Students Failing to Get US Visas

Kofi Owusu's classes at Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are about to start this Monday. But his in-person meeting at the United States embassy¹ in Accra, Ghana for a student visa is still nine months away.

It is the second time that Owusu will not make it to the U.S. in time for school.

"I think they should just open up the system," said Owusu. He told Reuters, "they are operating on a rather limited schedule so I think they can broaden² it and give students priority³."

A drop in international students

The U.S. requires an in-person interview for international students to get a visa. Educational support groups say students find it difficult to get an appointment since the embassies⁴ are operating with fewer workers during the health crisis⁵.

This has left some foreign students unable to get to the U.S. for the start of the school year. And the educational groups are now calling for the U.S. to drop in-person interviews or conduct them online.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said students should start the visa process early. He added that the department considers appointments for students first and speeds up the process as needed.

Last year, the U.S. permitted embassy officers to drop required in-person interviews to help visa processing slowed by the pandemic. Students renewing⁶ their visas within a year before it ends are not required to meet in person through December 2021.

The Institute of International Education, or IIE, said new international student enrollment⁷ in the United States dropped 43 percent in the autumn of 2020 from the year before. The drop came after months of pandemic restrictions⁸ around the world. The organization, however, found that the real number of new students who made it to the U.S. in person fell 72 percent.

IIE numbers show the United States has had over one million international students each year since the 2015-2016 school year.

The wait and the difficulty threaten both America's standing⁹ as a place for international students and the money they bring into the country. The amount is estimated¹⁰ to be $40 billion each year to the universities and local communities.

Losing talent

NAFSA is a nonprofit group of international educators. Its research found that, even before COVID, the U.S. visa process was one of the top three reasons for falling international student numbers between 2017-2019. The U.S. social and political environment and competition from other countries' universities were the other two.

Ravi Shankar is the director of the International Services Office at the University of Rochester in New York. He named Canada, Britain, and China as the top U.S. competitors for international students. Shankar said, "We live in danger of losing talent."

Other Western countries make it easier for international students to study there. Owusu said, "I have been to school in the UK." He added, "I didn't go through the stress of seeking for an interview."

Sarah Spreitzer is the director of government relations at the American Council¹¹ on Education. She said she thinks the U.S. government is trying to be "a more welcoming United States."

This year, American universities received 13 percent more applications from international students than from the year before. The numbers came in from Common App which students use to apply to colleges yearly¹².

Suwade Pe Than is a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. She considers herself lucky to have secured¹³ an appointment in June at the U.S. embassy in Yangon, Myanmar.

She waited more than three hours for her 10-minute meeting. Pe Than believes the meeting could have been done online instead of in person.

She said, "it's just that one interview that's keeping everyone from going to the States."

Words in This Story

rather – adv. to some degree or extent¹⁴

priority – n. something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done or dealt with first

interview – n. a meeting at which people talk to each other in order to ask questions and get information

enrollment – n. a person or group of people with a special ability to do something well

talent – n. a person or group of people with a special ability to do something well

stress – n. a state of mental tension¹⁵ and worry caused by problems in your life or work

apply – v. to ask formally for something (such as a job, admission to a school, or a loan) usually in writing

1 embassy   

n.大使馆，大使及其随员

参考例句：

• Large crowd demonstrated outside the British Embassy.很多群众在英国大使馆外面示威。
• He's a U.S. diplomat assigned to the embassy in London.他是美国驻伦敦大使馆的一名外交官。

2 broaden   

v.放宽，变宽，扩大

参考例句：

• We broaden in experiences by traveling.旅行增长我们的经验。
• Let's broaden out the discussion to talk about education as a whole.我们来扩大一下讨论范围，全面谈谈教育问题。

3 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

4 embassies   

n.大使馆( embassy的名词复数 )；大使馆全体成员

参考例句：

• The representatives of other countries have their embassies there. 许多国家都在此设有大使馆。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）
• Demonstrators protested outside the country's embassies all over Europe. 该国驻欧洲各国的大使馆外都有群众进行示威抗议。 来自辞典例句

5 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

6 renewing   

（使）复原， （使）更新，赋予新的生命和活力( renew的现在分词 )； 重新开始； 继续； 补充

参考例句：

• He feels his youth renewing. 他觉得越活越年轻了。
• A lot of the cost of maintenance went into renewing brakes. 很多的维修费用都花在了更换刹车方面。

7 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

11 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

12 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

13 secured   

adj. 无虑的, 安心的, 安全的 adj. 牢靠的, 稳妥的 vt. 固定, 获得, 使...安全 vi. (海上工作人员)停止工作 vi. (船)抛锚, 停泊

参考例句：

• He secured the appointment of professor of English literature in the university. 他获聘为该大学的英国文学教授。
• By strengthening the embankments they secured the village from floods. 他们加固河堤让村子免受洪水之灾。

14 extent   

n.程度，范围，限度；广度，宽度，大小

参考例句：

• The new race track is nearly six miles in extent. 这条新跑道将近六英里长。
• What's the extent of the damage? 损坏的程度如何?

15 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。