礼节美语 Business Etiquette 182 Applying for a Visa (1)

　　王小姐到美国使馆签证，签证官Bob Jones受理她的申请。
B: Hello miss. Can I see your ticket number?
W: Sure, here you are. And here are my application forms as well.
B: Thank you miss...Wang. I'm Bob Jones and I'll be handling your application.
W: Nice to meet you Mr. Jones.
B: The first step is to determine your eligibility¹ for a U.S. visa. Let's see here...you're applying for a special business visa. Why is that?
W: Well, my first order of business will be attending a conference in Seattle, but after that I intend to spend two weeks visiting my friends. I assumed a business visa would be required.
签证官Bob说，首先要决定，王小姐是否符合申请美国签证的标准，eligibility is spelled e-l-i-g-i-b-i-l-i-t-y, eligibility，是符合标准的意思。签证官问王小姐为什么要申请一种特殊商务签证，a special business visa.。王小姐解释说，她是先到西雅图开会，first order of business 意思是第一件要处理的事情，然后还准备去看朋友。
B: I think a regular visitor's visa should suffice. With this visa, you can stay in the United States for up to 90 days.
W: So I can attend conferences and do business on that visa?
B: Yes. You are free to do temporary business with this visa. If you were planning on setting up a new business in the U.S. you might need to apply for a long-term visa.
W: Oh, I see. I think 90 days is more than enough time.
签证官觉得，王小姐申请一般的旅游签证a regular visitor's visa，就可以了，suffice is spelled s-u-f-f-i-c-e, suffice 是足够的意思，她凭旅游签证能在美国停留90天，而且也可以做生意。王小姐说，90天的时间已经足够了。
B: You said you plan to attend a conference. May I see your official invitation letter?
W: Of course...I've also attached two reference letters from my senior management who can confirm my itinerary².
B: I see. Your passport has quite a few international stamps in it. You do a lot of business traveling?
W: I'm out of the country almost half a year. I'm a Chinese antiquities³ consultant⁴ and advisor⁵. Our company has an office in Zurich.
王小姐把会议方的邀请函，the official invitation letter，交给签证官，还附加了两份公司主管的信，证明她的行程，itinerary. 她说自己 I'm out of the country almost half a year，每年几乎有半年的时间不在国内，签证官说王小姐护照上有quite a few international stamps, 这里所说的 international stamps，是指入出境时在护照上盖的章。原来，王小姐是中国古迹专家，她所在的公司在苏黎世有办公处。

1 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

2 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

3 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

4 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

5 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。