VOA教育报道2022--对申请学生签证者有用的提示和建议

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Useful Tips and Advice for Those Applying for Student Visas

There are several steps to getting a student visa to study in the United States. Recently, VOA Learning¹ English spoke² to Megan Mankerian-Stem about how to improve your chances of completing the process successfully.

Mankerian-Stem is the Director of International Enrollment⁴ at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

She has worked at the Midwestern university for six years and advised international students for more than 10 years. She has many stories about her students having success in the U.S.

But, she also knows about the difficulties international students face even before getting to their first college class. In the last two years, some of the usual problems have increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For example, many U.S. embassies⁵ around the world are way behind in holding visa interviews. In Abuja, Nigeria, it will take 150 days for a student visa interview.

Three kinds of student visa

Mankerian-Stem said students often wait too long to apply for the F-1 student visa. The F-1 visa is one of three visas that permits students to come to the U.S. The others are J and M visas, but those are not for students coming for a long-term university study program. Visas with the letter M are for job training, and visas with the letter J are for short-term⁶ academic exchange programs.

Mankerian-Stem said she recently spoke with a student from South Korea who wanted to come to Creighton. The student, however, had not yet scheduled a visa interview in Seoul.

The waiting time right now for an interview there, she said, is over four weeks. Creighton's school year starts in less than one month.

"So I had to say there's just no way that we could get you here in time for you to be able to be successful in your classes."

Do not delay

Mankerian-Stem said students need to start the visa process early. "You cannot afford to delay or procrastinate⁷ in any way," she said. She also advised students to work with the Education USA office in their home country and attend events where they can learn about the college and visa application process.

Most students thinking about coming to school in the U.S. today will probably not be able to start school until 2023.

Mankerian-Stem also said there are times when a student who has been accepted to study in the U.S. and who gets a visa interview is rejected by the U.S. Department of State.

Avoid rejection⁸

Here are some of the most common reasons students are rejected:

They have not taken an English test such as TOEFL, IELTS or the Duolingo English Test; they come from a country with a high number of fraudulent applications; they say that they have family members living in the U.S.; they say they want to work in the U.S. when their studies are over.

Students from countries such as Bangladesh, Ghana, Nepal and Nigeria, she said, can be at risk for rejection. That is because others before them used false information in their applications.

Mankerian-Stem said the visas are in place so that students can come to the U.S. for a school program and then return home immediately. If a visa officer thinks a student may try to stay longer than permitted, the student can be rejected.

That can be a problem for students who want to get involved in the U.S. government program called Optional¹⁰ Practical Training, or OPT⁹. OPT permits students to stay in the U.S. and work in their field of study for at least one year and possibly three after they get their degree.

Practice, practice, practice

Mankerian-Stem said she wants her students to have good answers ready during their interviews. She offers students the chance to practice and to speak with other international students who can advise them.

"That way they're not surprised by these types of questions and they're able to be honest, but also be very clear about what their intentions are."

Still work to be done

Mankerian-Stem said officers like herself are working to tell the U.S. State Department why students should not be rejected. For example, she noted¹¹ that some schools may drop the student's English test requirement if the student has taken most of their classes in English or taken other tests that show their English skill.

"There are so many different other ways a student can prove their English language to us," she said.

She also noted that international student advisers¹² are telling student visa application reviewers that programs, such as OPT, are important. Students should be able to speak openly about their interest in OPT during visa interviews without fear of rejection.

She said she and others are speaking with Education USA about making that point to others in the State Department.

It is worth noting that countries with large numbers of students accepted into U.S. study programs will often have special F-1 days. For example, the Financial Express newspaper of Bangladesh recently reported that the U.S. embassy¹³ sometimes holds a "super Friday." On such days, embassy workers try to help hundreds of students in need of visas in order to start their studies. The most recent was on July 29.

Words in This Story

enroll³ – v. to officially join a group or organization such as a school or university

interview –n. a meeting in which some gives information about themselves

apply –v. to formally ask in writing to be admitted to a school, or to get a job or a loan¹⁴

schedule –v. to plan an activity or event for a certain time

procrastinate – v. to be slow or late about doing something that you should do

fraudulent – adj. done to trick someone for the purpose of getting something valuable

practice – v. to do something again and again to get better at it

intention – n. an aim or purpose for doing something

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

4 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。

5 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

6 short-term   

adj.短期的

参考例句：

• The short-term training class has been run three times.短训班办了三期。
• For this they are running short-term courses and evening classes.为此，他们办了短训班和夜校。

7 procrastinate   

v.耽搁，拖延

参考例句：

• Most often we procrastinate when faced with something we do not want to do.面对不想做的事情，我们经常拖延。
• It's easy to procrastinate when the deadline seems infinitely far away.当最终期限总是遥遥无期时是很容易延期的。

8 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

9 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

10 optional   

adj.可任意选择的，非强制的，随意的

参考例句：

• The goods are optional, but only one.这些物品是可以任选的，但只能选一个。
• It is optional with you.那是你的自由。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

13 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。

14 loan   

n.贷款；借出的东西；借；vt.借出；贷予

参考例句：

• I asked the bank to help me with a loan.我请银行给我一笔贷款。
• Has the bank okayed your request for a loan?银行批准你的贷款要求了吗？