[Text/Observer Network, Xiong Chaoyi] Recently, the U.S. Embassy in China suddenly tightened its visa policy for Chinese children under the age of 14, canceling the previous visa application process without an interview.

On June 9, the official U.S. visa application website USTravelDocs released a notice stating that as of June 10, all applicants under the age of 14 who will submit non-immigrant visa applications at U.S. consulates in China must be accompanied by at least one parent during the interview (it is recommended that both parents attend), and they will no longer qualify for the visa interview waiver program.

After checking the relevant information on the USTravelDocs website, the Observer Network found that it clearly states, "Children under 14 must schedule an interview" and "All children under 14 must personally attend the interview."

According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on June 10, this latest decision was made after the U.S. recently threatened to "severely" revoke visas for Chinese students studying in the U.S. and claimed it would strengthen scrutiny of future visa applications. Industry insiders believe that this new policy is confusing, as children under 14 do not require a visa interview, as it makes no sense.

Tracy Shao, a留学 consultant working in Chengdu, said, "Whether their application is approved depends entirely on their parents' situation. Do infants who cannot even speak still have to be present at the visa interview? I am highly skeptical about this."

The latest notice and policy Q&A from the U.S. side on the USTravelDocs website screenshot.

In addition to requiring children under 14 to be accompanied by parents for the interview, this new policy also stipulates that they must bring a series of original documents (not copies), including: the birth certificate of the minor applicant, household registration book (if applicable), passports of both parents (new and old), and marriage certificate of both parents (if applicable).

The USTravelDocs website stated that before June 10, applicants under the age of 14 who submitted applications through the visa interview waiver program at U.S. consulates in China could still use this program. However, applicants may still be required to personally attend interviews at U.S. consulates in China in "certain circumstances."

On June 10, the first day the new policy was implemented, a Chinese mother who brought two children for a visa interview said she was unsure whether to bring her eight-month-old baby.

This lady said that she had scheduled the interview in April, but now she is worried that if she does not bring the children, their visas may not be approved, and bringing an eight-month-old infant for the interview is indeed tiring.

"So I decided to bring both of them for the interview, but the staff told me that the children did not need to be present," the mother added, saying that she even had to feed the baby at the embassy.

In addition to the inconvenience caused by the new interview requirements, the new policy may also block parents from sending their children to study abroad in the U.S. Mark Wang, a father from Beijing whose son is 13 years old, said that after the policy change, he has already canceled his son's summer study trip plan to the U.S.

"I think this new policy is a hostile gesture, and I received an unwelcome signal. I decided to enroll my son in a domestic summer camp."

File photo: May 2, 2012, Beijing, Chinese students waiting for visa interviews at the U.S. Embassy. Visual China

According to the latest annual survey data released by the Institute of International Education (IIE), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, in November last year, there were 331,602 Indian students studying in the U.S. during the 2023-2024 academic year, while the number of Chinese students was 277,398. Compared with the previous academic year, the number of Indian students increased by 23%, while the number of Chinese students decreased by 4%.

Thus, India surpassed China for the first time in 15 years to become the largest source country of international students in the U.S. In fact, Chinese students have always been the largest foreign student group in the U.S., with a total of nearly 290,000 students in the 2022-23 academic year.

The South China Morning Post pointed out that many Chinese students choose to apply to American universities possibly due to their youthful experiences of studying or exchanging in the U.S. However, the U.S. has recently issued various restrictive measures in the visa sector, especially targeting China.

On May 28 local time, Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, posted on the X platform claiming that the U.S. would start revoking visas for Chinese students, including those "associated with the Chinese government or studying in key fields."

On the same day, the U.S. Department of State released a statement titled "New Visa Policy Prioritizes America Over China."

Rubio continued to say in the statement: "Under President Trump's leadership, the U.S. Department of State will cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke Chinese students' visas... We will also revise visa standards to strengthen scrutiny of all future visa applications from mainland China and Hong Kong."

In response to the U.S. government's claim to revoke visas for Chinese students in the U.S., China has repeatedly responded sternly.

On May 28, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning pointed out when responding to related questions that China has always believed that normal educational cooperation and academic exchanges should not be disrupted. We urge the U.S. to effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students and other international students in the U.S.

In response to media inquiries on May 29, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. stated that China firmly opposes this political and discriminatory approach by the U.S. This move by the U.S. will seriously harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students in the U.S. and further damage the U.S.'s own international image and credibility. The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. immediately lodged a serious protest with the U.S. side and urged the U.S. government to correct its mistakes immediately and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students in the U.S.

This article is an exclusive article by the Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7514513633708196387/

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