VOA教育报道2024--Activists Want US to Re-think Student Visa Policies for Africans

Activists¹ Want US to Re-think Student Visa Policies for Africans

　　Activists say visa denial rates for African students seeking higher education in the United States are too high.

　　Fanta Aw is executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. NAFSA is a nonprofit organization that supports international student exchange.

　　Aw said data released in 2023 by the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration shows visa rejections³. She said the rejection² rates for African students are higher than rates for students from the Middle East, South America and South Asia.

　　At the same time, however, the IEEE Open Doors Report says the number of students from sub-Saharan Africa studying in the U.S. is growing. The most recent Open Doors Report, which follows foreign students in the U.S., shows that the number of students from African countries south of the Sahara Desert increased by 18 percent.

　　Aw said the rejection numbers mean many more African students could be studying in the U.S. Fewer American students are going to college and not as many Chinese students are studying in the U.S. African students could help replace those groups, she said.

　　Last year, big percentages of students from several large African countries were denied study visas. In 2023, examples include Ethiopia at 78 percent, Nigeria at 75 percent and Kenya at 74 percent.

　　For those countries, the percentages are high. But the number of students going to the U.S. is also high. For example, Nigeria ranked seventh in the 2023 Open Doors Report with over 17,600 students studying in the U.S. The total is an increase of 22 percent over 2022.

　　Aw, representatives from the Presidents' Alliance and Shorelight met with representatives from the State Department last summer. Shorelight is a business that connects international students with universities that offer the study programs they want.

　　The U.S. State Department said students should have the chance to secure a student visa no matter where they are from. The groups decided⁴ to continue discussing their concerns in the future.

　　Aw said activists want to discover the reason for the disproportionate number of denials. Only about one in 10 European students were denied visas in 2023, for example.

　　One concern, Aw said, is to make certain those who review visa applications "are fully⁵ trained in the way they make determinations (for student visas)." She wants to be sure African students are considered in the same way as students from other parts of the world.

　　In addition, she asked for more student visa appointments. Aw said many students who want to come to the U.S. get discouraged and turn to education in other countries.

　　"Word goes around, ‘Don't bother, because you're never going to make it,'" Aw said. "And that is not the message any of us want to see."

　　"So don't get me wrong — (if) students want to go to China or India, there's nothing wrong with that - or other places. But it shouldn't be because they couldn't get here (the U.S.)."

　　She noted⁶ that education programs "build bridges" as students go on to international jobs and make connections with the U.S. Aw also noted that, as education systems improve around the world, students have more choices.

　　U.S. officials told VOA that international students are very important, or a top priority. They added that all visa applications are processed on their individual merits and under U.S. immigration law.

　　Leon Fresco⁷ is an immigration lawyer in Washington, D.C. Fresco said he wants to know more "about this weird⁸ African disparity." He said he wants more people to know about it to, in his words, "start the process of fixing it."

　　Both Fresco and Aw suggested that U.S. government officials are not up to date on the quality of students aiming to study in the U.S.

　　"In the case of Africa and India," Aw said, "...most of these students are graduate students who are coming for (science) and (business) fields, areas that are very much needed and where innovation happens."

　　"We want to make sure there's an understanding that Africa and African countries are changing rapidly and that we're not keeping, you know, preconceived notions or outdated⁹ notions about what's happening in Africa."

　　In an email to VOA, a representative from the State Department said its Education USA program aims to help Africans attend U.S. colleges. But, as more students are interested in studying in the U.S., the percentage of visa denials will increase. It also noted that more Africans received student visas in 2023 than ever before.

　　Countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Eswatini, Ivory Coast and Madagascar have had more student visas approved than at any time in the past 20 years. Compared to 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a 61 percent increase in approved student visas among those countries.

　　Aw said her group sees progress. She gave the example that students no longer need to have in-person interviews in order to renew their visas. And students can also apply for visa renewal¹⁰ without traveling to their home country.

　　A group of American lawmakers wrote a letter earlier this year to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. They said that educational exchange is an important part of international diplomacy¹¹.

　　"It is critical that foreign students from Africa are treated similarly to foreign students from other parts of the world. There should be no reason that the State Department data should reflect such disparities among similarly situated¹² countries," the letter read.

　　And, as Aw noted, the results that come from students having a good experience in the U.S. last for years.

　　She said: "If we have a generation of students who are denied access to an education here in the U.S., that's a generation that...will have missed out in building friendships, bridges, businesses and so forth¹³."

　　Words in This Story

　　disproportionate –adj. affecting one more than another

　　determination –n. an official finding on whether to do something or not based on available information

　　appointment –n. a time to meet with an official to carry out part of an official process

　　merits –n. (pl.) qualities that play a part in deciding if a person should be able to have a position, membership in a group or attendance at a school

　　weird –adj. strange

　　disparity –n. a condition of being unequal or of lacking something that others have

　　innovation –n. the creation of something that people think is new

　　notion –n. an idea

　　apply –v. to request for a document, such as a visa, in writing from an official agency

　　disparity –n. an imbalance or unequal situation

　　situated –adj. in a place or position

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 rejections   

拒绝( rejection的名词复数 )； 摒弃； 剔除物； 排斥

参考例句：

• Most writers endure a number of rejections before being published. 大部分作家经历无数次的退稿才守得云开，作品得到发表。
• Supervise workers and monitors production quality to minimize rejections. 管理工人，监控生产质量，减少退货。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 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。

7 fresco   

n.壁画；vt.作壁画于

参考例句：

• This huge fresco is extremely clear and just like nature itself.It is very harmonious.这一巨幅壁画，清晰有致且又浑然天成，十分和谐。
• So it is quite necessary to study the influence of visual thinking over fresco.因此，研究视觉思维对壁画的影响和作用是十分必要的。

8 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

9 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

10 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

11 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

12 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

13 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。