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发信人: phoenix (Phoenix☆有凤来仪), 信区: AdvancedEdu
标 题: 美国使馆主页上的签证专题。
发信站: BBS 水木清华站 (Mon Jul 6 16:48:38 1998)
http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/chinese/visa/index.html
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q1: Where and when may I apply for a
nonimmigrantvisa to the United States? How much
does it cost?
A: Appointments for submittimg applications for nonimmigrant
visasare issued between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday
at the AmericanEmbassy at 2 Xiu Shui Dong Jie. Our offices are
closed on American andChinese holidays. There is a RMB 405 visa
processing fee payable at oneof Beijing's designated CITIC Industrial
Banks. This receipt issued afterpayment has been made is
non-refundable under any circumstances.
The following designated branch offices currently provide this
service:
19
Jian Guo Men Wai Avenue
(Chao Yang District)
06
Xin Yuan Nan Street
(Chao Yang District)
05
Dong Da Qiao Street
(Chao Yang District)
34
Bai Shi Qiao Street
(Hai Dian District)
306
Fu Cheng Men Avenue
(Xi Cheng District)
Q2: How long before I plan to travel should I applyfor
a visa?
A: Please apply for your visa well before the date you intend to
travel.While we strive to return passports with issued visas the
following businessday between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m., factors
beyond our control sometimes delaythe return of passports for
several days. Moreover, because of the hugenumber of
applications we receive it is not possible to interrupt our
serviceto the majority of applicants in order to accommodate
specially those applicantswho fail to apply for a visa early
enough.
Q3: How do you decide whether or not to issue a
visa?
A: The interviewing Consular officer must apply the provisions
of theU.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) in determining
whether an applicantis eligible for a U.S. visa. One of the most
important points in the INAthat an officer is called upon to apply
is Section 214(b). That sectionstates: "Every alien shall be
presumed to be an immigrant until heestablishes to the
satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time ofthe application
for a visa ... that he is entitled to nonimmigrant status...."This
means that our officers are required by law to view each visa
applicantas an intending immigrant until the applicant proves
otherwise. Your proofmay come in many forms, but when
considered together, it must be enoughfor the interviewing
officer to conclude that your overall circumstances,including a
permanent residence and other ties abroad, will compel youto
leave the United States at the end of a temporary stay. No single
document,certificate, or guarantee letter can be regarded as
sufficient for thispurpose. Because of the volume of applications
received, visa officersmust decide after a brief interview
whether someone is qualified to receivea visa. Applicants
should therefore be prepared to present their case clearlyand
concisely, since the application must otherwise be denied.
Q4: Is a denial under Section 214(b) permanent?
A: No. If you have new information which was not presented to
the interviewingofficer at the time of your first application or if
your overall circumstanceshave changed significantly since your
last application and you can nowbetter establish convincing ties
outside of the United States, you mayreapply.
Q5: Do refused applicants have to wait three to
sixmonths before reapplying?
A: There is no time restriction on resubmitting an application
aftera refusal. If you have additional information or supporting
documentationto present which is substantially different from
your initial applicationyou are encouraged to reapply. If your
circumstances are unchanged andyou will present only evidence
which has already been reviewed recentlyby an officer, your
chances of gaining approval on a second or third applicationare
much lower. In such cases, it is probably better to wait until
yourpersonal circumstances have changed significantly before
reapplying.
Q6: I presented all the documents I was told to
bring,but my application was turned down
anyway. What else should I bring?
A: The problem is not the documents. Rather, your current
overall situation(as supported by those documents) was not
adequate to overcome the presumptionthat you are an intending
immigrant. Remember, U.S. law says that you arean intending
immigrant until you show that your overall circumstances
wouldbe adequate to compel you to return home after visiting
the U.S.
Q7: Why are the visa interviews so short? I was
refusedafter only a couple of questions and the
interviewer hardly looked at mydocuments?
A: The visa officers handle almost 100,000 applications every
year.Based on this experience, we are able to quickly review
the applicationform and supporting documents in order to
narrow the range in which questionsmay need to be asked. Keep
in mind, most of the information we need isalready supplied on
the application form itself, so there is usually noneed for the
officer to ask more than a few additional questions. We
oftenneed only to verify your identity or clear up one or two
points. Also,if the interview were longer, you would end up
waiting in line for a considerablylonger time. In order to be fair
to all applicants and to provide everyonean equal opportunity to
establish eligibility, we must work quickly andefficiently.
Q8: I have heard that it is better to say that Iam
going for business than for tourism or to see
relatives. Is this true?
A: No. Tell the truth. If your ties to China are adequate to
overcomethe presumption of immigrant intent (INA section
214b), a tourist visawill be issued. Problems arise if you
mislead the interviewing officeras to your intent in visiting the
United States. Once a misrepresentationis made, we may find it
difficult to believe other information you havesupplied.
Q9: When I applied for a visa, I told the officerI
would return to China after a short stay in the US.
Why didn't the officerbelieve me?
A: We are required to evaluate your overall situation in
reaching adecision. Your statement that you intend to return to
China is helpful,but under the requirements of U.S. law the
statement alone is not adequateto show you have strong ties
outside of the United States which would compelyou to return to
China. It is not that the officer did not believe you.Rather, the
officer considered your statement along with the other
evidenceyou brought to your interview and concluded that, on
the whole, the evidencewas not compelling.
Q10: I have been accepted by a U.S. school
whichissued me an I-20. Why isn't that enough for
issuance of a student visa?
A: The approved INS I-20 is just one piece of information the
interviewingofficer must consider when deciding whether a visa
may be issued. Remember,under Section 214(b) of the U.S.
Immigration and Nationality Act, you stillmust prove that you
will leave the United States after the purpose forwhich you
entered the United States comes to an end. In student visa
cases,the applicants may intend to stay in the United States for
many monthsand even years pursuing a course of study.
Consequently, we must consideryour overall circumstances
when deciding whether to approve a student visa.Student visas
must be denied if it appears that the applicant's primarypurpose
of travel is not to obtain an education, but, rather, to facilitatean
indefinite stay in the United States. The fact that a school has
admitteda student to study and issued the student an I-20 is,
therefore, only onefactor we consider.
Q11: Why do many of the refused applicants get
thesame letter of explanation as to why they were
turned down? For example,shouldn't the reason
be different for a student visa applicant than a
touristvisa applicant?
A: The legal basis for most visa refusals is the same: section
214(b)of the INA (see question 5). In most refusal cases, the
applicant failsto show strong enough or stable enough ties
outside the U.S. to convincethe officer that the applicant will
depart the United States after a temporaryperiod. Many refused
applicants believe there is a document or a specialway to
answer our questions that will enable them to successfully
reapplyfor a visa days or weeks later. However, as the problem
for applicantsrefused under section 214(b) lies in their overall
situation, no singleanswer or document exists which would
prove satisfactory in all cases.Applicants are encouraged to
reapply only when their overall circumstanceshave changed. For
example, an unemployed recent graduate may decide toreapply
following a sustained period of steady employment.
Q12: What are some examples of adequate ties to
China?
A: Often the interviewing officer considers your job, family, and
financialcircumstances. "Ties" are the various aspects of your
life thatbind you to your place of residence such as your
possessions, employment,social and family relationships. In
cases of younger applicants who maynot have had an opportunity
to establish such ties, interviewing officersmay look at the
applicant's specific intentions, family relations,
educationalstatus (is the applicant in the middle of an academic
program?), grades,and long-range plans and prospects in China.
As each person's situationis different, there is no magic answer
as to what constitutes sufficientties. For example, one person
may have a thriving business in China whichhe or she would be
unlikely to abandon, while another may have close
andconvincing ties to a house and family here, or a promising
career.
Q13: I will certainly return to China because
myparents are here. I am the only son in my family
and I need to return sothat I can take care of my
parents. Why did the officer say I have
insufficientties to compel me to return?
A: Our experience shows that being an only son has not deterred
manyChinese travelers from remaining indefinitely in the US.
While this factormay be one among others relevant to an
individual's personal circumstances,it would not usually, in
itself, be sufficient to establish eligibility.
Q14: My company and my American friend have
bothwritten letters guaranteeing that I will return
to China. Why isn't thatconsidered to be enough
proof that I actually will return?
A: A guarantee letter, like other forms of written documentation,
willbe considered by the interviewing officer. However, a
letter, by itself,does not establish the applicant's ties to outside
of the United States.Similarly, pledges from highly placed
persons that you will return to Chinado not automatically enable
applicants to overcome section 214(b). Thisis because U.S. law
does not permit visa officers to delegate to otherstheir authority
to evaluate the applicant's actual overall circumstances.
Q15: I have a letter (or fax) to show you which
willhelp you understand my situation and my
strong ties to China. Can I sendit to you so you can
read it in advance of my interview?
A: You should bring any information, including your letter, to
theinterview. Mailing it to us in advance will not be helpful. The
visa interviewis the proper setting for us to consider the
information in your letter.
Q16: Shouldn't I conceal the fact that I have
closerelatives living in the United States, that I have
an application to immigrateon file, and that I have
previously been denied a visa? What are the
consequencesif an applicant conceals or
misrepresents information or submits
fraudulentdocuments to the Embassy?
A: The risks of fraud are serious. Applicants who provide
incorrectinformation, conceal relevant facts, or misrepresent
their cases may becomepermanently ineligible to enter the
United States. All approved applicationsare checked against
computer records to see if certain information on theapplication
was truthfully presented. It is common in China for an
applicantto have relatives in the United States or a petition to
immigrate on file.These factors by themselves will not prevent
approval of your application.Misrepresentation of these facts,
however, risks causing your applicationto be refused.
Q17: Must applicants take tests such as the
TOEFL,SAT, GRE, and GMAT, in order to obtain
a student visa? Is any particularscore on these
exams needed to get a visa?
A: Applicants are generally not required to take any particular
teststo qualify for a visa. However, we note that motivated and
serious studentvisa applicants often take such tests when seeking
admission to schoolsin the United States. The fact that a student
has taken one or more ofthese tests may help show the
seriousness of the applicant's study plans.
Q18: If my visa application is denied, would it
helpto have a high ranking official or an American
friend contact the interviewingofficer?
A: No. United States law assigns the responsibility for issuance
orrefusal of visas to consular officers overseas. They have the
final sayon all visa cases. Additionally, United States law is
designed to insulatethe decisions in visa cases from outside
influences. An applicant can influencea reversal of a prior
denial only through presentation of new convincingevidence of
strong ties.
Q19: Should I use a travel agent or other advisorto
help me apply?
A: The matter is a personal decision for you to make. However,
in mostcases it is not necessary for you to hire a travel agent to
assist youwith your application. Travel agents will often charge
you to fill outforms which are available free in our office. They
also charge large sumson the promise of enabling the traveler to
bypass the visa interview. However,all applications submitted
by travel agencies are given careful scrutinyand, when
appropriate, applicants are called in for interviews. Further,our
experience shows that many applicants are coached by
intermediariesto provide answers which are misleading. While
the truthful answer wouldnot have harmed the application, the
discovery of a misleading answer oftenputs the entire
application in doubt. If you have particular questionsabout our
procedures, we suggest you contact the Embassy's informtion
unitat 6532-3431.
Q20: What can I do if I have a complaint about
theapplication process or my case?
A: All visa applicants are entitled to courteous, efficient, and
consistenttreatment. If you feel you were treated improperly
during the processingof your visa application, you should write
to the Consul General and describethe circumstances. Your
concerns will be investigated and corrective actiontaken where
justified. Our fax number is (011) (86) (10) 6532-3178.
Q21: What if I have other questions about
applyingfor a U.S. visa?
If you have other questions not answered here, you may contact
theEmbassy's informtion unit at 6532-3431, or access
theDepartment of State's Consular Affairs Web Page.
--
I try to make my way to the ordinary world,
I learn to survive...............
※ 修改:·phoenix 於 Jul 6 16:51:56 修改本文·[FROM: 166.111.10.156]
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