“2006 will be the golden year when the U.S. study visa policy will be greatly liberalized.” This prediction made by study abroad consultants headed by Xu Xiaoping made many Chinese students ecstatic.

So, does the Visa Office of the U.S. Embassy in China, the implementer of the U.S. student visa policy in China and the focus of the U.S. visa debate over the years, agree with this view? Is it easier to get a student visa to study in the United States in 2006 than before? Is the U.S. student visa policy really more open and friendly?

Regarding this series of questions, our reporter exclusively interviewed Mr. Thurmond Borden, Director of the Visa Section of the U.S. Embassy in China, and obtained the official U.S. answer from him.

Reporter: What do you think of the view that "2006 will be the golden year when the US study visa policy is greatly liberalized"? Do you think it will be easier for Chinese students to obtain F-1 or J-1 visas this year than before?

Bao Zewen: As Secretary of State Rice said in her speech on "ensuring a broader and more open country," last year, the total number of students worldwide who obtained U.S. visas increased by nearly 9% compared with a few years ago. Rice said: "We are very active in encouraging those students, researchers and scientists to come to the United States to study."

Last year, in order to make it easier for Chinese students to apply for visas, the U.S. Embassy in China and four consulates in China took a series of measures. The U.S. government and the Chinese government signed an agreement in July 2005 to increase the validity period of Chinese student visas from the original six months for two entries to 12 months for multiple entries. In addition, all U.S. visa issuance offices in China reserve a certain number of visa interviews for students and visiting scholars every day, so that every potential student or visiting scholar can get an interview opportunity within one week after making a phone appointment.

In the past, according to regulations, foreign students could not apply for a visa earlier than 90 days before the w88 casino started, nor could they enter the United States earlier than 30 days before the w88 casino started. Now, we have allowed foreign students to apply for a visa as early as 120 days before the start of w88 casino, and to enter the United States as early as 45 days before the start of w88 casino.

Reporter: If the "golden year" theory comes true, then another peak period of visa applications will surely come. By then, will the US government tighten its visa policy again?

Bao Zewen: The US government agencies in China believe that if the current trend continues, there will be more visas issued to Chinese students or visiting scholars in 2006 than at any time in history.

The U.S. government has never imposed any quotas or restrictions on the number of student visas in any given year. All visa applicants who are deemed qualified will eventually get their wish. At the same time, applicants must also understand that obtaining a "student visa" is not a "shortcut" to immigrating to the United States. If a U.S. visa officer believes that the applicant is actually using a student or visiting scholar visa as a springboard to immigrate to the United States, the law requires the visa officer to deny the person's visa application.

After "9·11", the U.S. Congress made new regulations on issuing study visas to foreign students, mainly involving students in sensitive majors. In the first two years after 9/11, these regulations sometimes delayed visa issuance by weeks or even months. But because the U.S. government has invested huge manpower, material resources, and new computer systems, the average visa processing time has been reduced to only two to three weeks in 95% of cases.

Reporter: Since China implemented reform and opening up, which year has issued the most visas to study in the United States? How does the situation compare now to that year?

Bao Zewen: The year when the United States issued the most study visas in China was 2001, when a total of 19,244 student visas were issued. The second-largest year in history was 2005, with a total of 18,950 student visas issued, only a few hundred fewer than in 2001.

Reporter: In 2004 and 2005, the total number of people studying in the United States declined. Why is this?

Bao Zewen: The total number of overseas students the United States has absorbed over the years is actually unmatched by any other country in the world. But in the past two years, the total number of students studying in the United States has declined slightly by 1% or 2%, which is the first time in 30 years. There are many reasons for this.

The primary reason is that countries that had a large number of domestic students going to the United States in the past now have increasing educational opportunities, allowing their students to receive good higher education at home. The second reason is that several of the terrorists involved in the 9/11 attacks originally entered the United States as students. This has led the U.S. Congress to ask us to increase scrutiny of student visa applicants. As a result, people have the impression that the United States is no longer welcoming to foreign students. This impression is most evident in Middle Eastern countries and countries where Muslims make up the majority of the population. But now, this situation has begun to change, and the U.S. government expects that more Muslim students will apply to study in the United States next year.

Reporter: If the United States becomes more open to Chinese students in terms of visa policy, is part of the reason due to pressure from domestic universities or research institutions in the United States, because these institutions welcome Chinese students to study?

Bao Zewen: The United States has always welcomed students from all over the world to study at any of the more than 2,000 colleges and universities in the United States.

Currently, there are more than 600,000 foreign students studying in the United States, which is more than 1/3 of the total 1.5 million international students in the world. Among these students studying in the United States, the number of students from mainland China exceeds 62,000, ranking second after India. But if students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan in the United States are also included, the total number of Chinese students in the United States will greatly exceed that of India. Since 1978, the United States has attracted a large number of Chinese students, and the United States very much welcomes our Chinese friends.

To those students who really want to go to the United States to seek educational opportunities, I want to say that the door of the United States has always been completely open to you, and will continue to be so in the future.