Snapshot: Student Visas for Chinese Students

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In the past 30 years, the flow of people between the United States and China has gone from virtually non-existent to the hundreds of thousands. This year, despite the global financial crisis, the approval rate for Chinese applicants was 80 percent, as compared to 75 percent in 2008. We issued 5 percent more visas than we did in 2008, and nearly 20 percent more visas as compared to 2007. The growth in visa issuances for Chinese students has been remarkable: 46 percent more visas were issued versus 2008, and 106 percent -- or more than double the number of visas – than were issued in 2007. Nowadays, 85 percent of Chinese applicants for U.S. student visas are successful.

from Remarks by Michael J. Jacobsen Chief, Consular Section, U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou at U.S.-China Visa Conference | December 1, 2009