Non-Immigrant Visas

How America Welcomes Chinese Students
Top 10 popular misconceptions regarding U.S. nonimmigrant visa processing
 
 
#1:       “Visa officers can only issue a certain number of visas per day.”
 
The number of visas to be processed daily by a consular officer essentially depends upon the amount of time available and the complexity of each individual case.  There is no specific “limit” on numbers of visas to be issued or refused or on the type of visa to be issued or refused.  Consular officers have no quotas for any type of visa interviews or for visas issued or refused.

 
#2:       “The Embassy or Consulate will only issue a certain number of visas per year.”
 
Consular officers issue visas based on whether applicants are qualified.  Neither Washington nor the local Embassy sets any limit to the number of nonimmigrant visas issued or refused.

The number of student visas issued in Beijing has increased in recent years.  After declines in 2001 and 2002, U.S. Embassy Beijing issued over 6,000 J1 and F1 visas to Chinese nationals in 2003; over 10,000 in 2004; and in the first eight months of 2005 over 9,000.

The United States is very welcoming to foreign students.  In 2003-2004, the most recent year for which complete figures are available, more than 500,000 foreign students studied in U.S. colleges and universities and 10.8 percent of them were Chinese.  Only India currently sends more students to the United States.  China was the leading source of students to the United States from 1988 through 1993, and again from 1998 through 2001, after which India began to send more.  (Sources: http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=49966 and http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/3390/folder/37224/OpenDoors2004FastFacts.pdf )

 

Some might have the wrong impression on visa issuance numbers, since the United States does have quotas for certain forms of immigrant visas.  But non-immigrant visas, including student visas, are issued under different regulations.

 
#3:       "Even with the improvements in the visa process, there still remains a lingering sense among many potential international students and postdocs that the United States is a less welcoming place than other places they might go."
 
The preceding  statement was made in May 2005 by Phillip A. Griffiths of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, in his role as chair of a U.S. National Academies of Sciences committee looking into the question of visas for students and researchers (http://www.the-scientist.com/news/20050511/01). 

 

The U.S. academic community has urged the U.S. Government to attempt to address student visitors’ concerns, and the U.S. Government has worked to respond effectively.

Every year since 2003, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing has issued more visas to Chinese students than the previous year.  On the other hand, some experts have suggested that the current strengthening of the Chinese education system, through such programs as international MBAs, may be encouraging Chinese students to stay home to study.  Also, the United States was not the only country to report recent declines in foreign student enrollment; the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand have recently reported declines in their numbers of enrolled foreign students (http://www.obhe.ac.uk/news/April2005.html).
 
 
#4:       “If you have family members in the U.S., you cannot get a visa.”
 
This is a rumor that is commonly found on the Internet.  This is not U.S. policy.  Student visa applicants are evaluated to ensure they are valid students, pursuing a valid course of study, with funds sufficient to pay for their program, and with the present intention of returning to China.  Having family members in the United States does not disqualify someone from obtaining a visa.

 
#5:       “More student visas are issued when U.S.-Chinese relations are more stable.”
 
Student visas are issued under a uniform set of laws, based on the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1954.  The U.S. State Department does not adjust visa policy to match political currents in the bilateral relationship between two countries.
 
 
#6:       “If you have already been refused a visa once, the visa officer will barely look at your material and will simply refuse your application.”
 
Every visa application is reviewed by a new officer.  This is to ensure that in the case of a previous refusal, a new officer will approach the case as a new application.   If you have already been refused a visa once, you must be prepared to tell the new visa officer how your situation or your application has changed.
 
 
#7:       “It is easier to get a visa for a student studying for a Master’s degree.  It is easier to prove finances for a Master’s degree than for a Ph.D.”
 
Many students seem to think visa officers prefer to issue visas to Master’s degree applicants, because it is easier to prove finances sufficient for the shorter duration of a Master’s degree.  Some non-U.S. Government “visa consultants” also make this claim.  In fact, many more visas are issued to Ph.D. students than to Master’s students.  U.S. Embassy Beijing interviews more Ph.D. student applicants, and Ph.D. student applicants can often make a stronger case as to why their career plans require them to study at a U.S. institution.      
 
 
#8:       “It’s easier to get a visa for Harvard or another Ivy League school, or one of the Big 10 State schools.”
 

There are significant communities of Chinese students at some of the well-known schools associated with the 50 U.S. states and Ivy League schools.  However, the U.S. Embassy Beijing consular section and the U.S. Consulates in China are visited nearly every week by representatives of schools throughout the U.S. developing programs to host Chinese students for the first time.  U.S. schools that are not necessarily well-known in China are nevertheless working to offer useful courses of study, often with financial aid, to attract talented international students. 

 

During a recent time period, Oregon State University, University of California in Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Duke, and Columbia were the top institutions for student visas issued at U.S. Embassy Beijing.  This is consistent with broader studies of which U.S. schools attract the most international students (such as http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/file_depot/0-10000000/0-10000/3390/folder/37224/OpenDoors2004FastFacts.pdf p.1).

 

In addition to U.S. public institutions, many U.S. private educational institutions are offering scholarships and other forms of financial aid to Chinese students.  In the U.S. education system, many U.S. private colleges and universities receive some financial assistance from the federal government in the form of research grants and other aid dollars. 

These billions of dollars demonstrate the American commitment to a strong educational system that welcomes foreign students.
 
 
#9:       “To get a visa to the United States you need to major in sciences (or business), or have a scholarship.”
 
During the recent time period studied, 35 percent of student visas issued by U.S. Embassy Beijing went to students of the “hard sciences,” such as engineering, mathematics, and biochemistry.  24 percent were for students of business, economics, accounting, and statistics.  10 percent were for computer science and related fields.

But 7 percent of visas went to students studying political science, international relations, journalism, and related social sciences.  And more and more visas are being issued to for study in such fields as film and cinema, design and applied arts, and drama and theater arts.  More Chinese are also going to the United States to study development economics, public administration, and law, in the form of Masters of Legal Letters (L.L.M.) programs.

During the recent time period studied by U.S. Embassy consular officers, 66 percent of successful student visa applicants were fully funded by their universities.  14 percent were self-funded, while 20 percent were paying for their studies through some combination of scholarship and self-funding.
 
 
#10      “The process of applying for a U.S. visa is too long and troublesome.”
 
The wait time for an appointment for a student visa interview at Beijing is currently six days.  The website of the U.S. State Department at http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/tempvisitors_wait.php lists wait times for student visas at Beijing and the U.S. Consulates in China.

To make the process as trouble-free as possible, be sure to (1) review our website for student visa information, either http://beijing.usembassy.gov/student_visas.html or http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/visa/f1m1.html; (2) bring with you all the documents listed on the website; and (3) use the electronic application forms listed at http://beijing.usembassy.gov/visa_forms.html or http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/visa/index.html.