本文是本报记者就一美国教授著文批评美国大使馆签证处而采访该签证处处长白智礼先生(Charles Bennett)的摘要。

　　记：有的申请人反映，签证官看都不看递进的材料就拒签，甚至再次申请时提交的新材料也不看就再次拒签，这令申请人十分愤怒，您对此怎么看?

　　白：我能理解他们的心情。但是，重要的一点请记住，申请签证并不是一个“材料”过程，也就是说，除了必要的材料如护照、签证申请表、签证费收据和I-20表外，并没有什么其他材料能赋予申请人获得签证的资格。我们的签证官受到的培训是根据签证申请表上所提供的信息、对签证官提问的回答以及我们对申请人在中国状况的理解而对其做出判断。如果签证官认为需要更多的材料才能做出决定，那可能会要你提供其他的材料。然而，我们鼓励申请人去看我们的网站(www.usembassy-hina.org.cn)以便更多地了解面谈时签证官可能需要什么种类的证明材料。对于学生，我们建议他们带来成绩单的复印件、录取通知、有关经济状况的证明以及标准化考试成绩(如托福、GRE等)。但是，签证官常常不看这些证明就能做出决定。

　　记：每个申请人为面谈都做了大量的准备工作，有的人还是从外地来到北京的，而三四分钟的面谈就决定了他们的命运，这不有点太草率了吗?

　　白：我们其实很愿意和每个申请人谈得长一点，比如说半小时，一个小时，但目前我们每天要接待600人，平均每人也就是3-5分钟。这真是很无奈的事情。如果我们有更多的时间，我们会做出更好、更准确的决定，说不定有更多人会被拒签，我说不好，但会做出更好的决定。

　　虽说面谈时间很短，我们还是很仔细的。众所周知，去美国留学的学生在完成学业后回国的百分比很低，因此我们签证官就有责任小心地裁定每份申请，确保每个申请人在得到签证前完全符合签证法的条款。

　　记：但是那些没有回国的学生的签证也是你们签发的，这难道不说明你们在发放签证时的判断有误吗?

　　白：问得好。其他人也问过我们这个问题，你知道，我们的工作并不是预见某人未来会怎样，一个人出国后会遇到很多事情，比如说，有的人恋爱了，结婚了，或是拿到学位后有了工作，我们的法律允许这些事情发生。我们知道，这些事情的发生往往不以他们的意志为转移，也不以我们的意志为转移。我们并不力图洞察未来，如果国会要求我们那么做，我们的工作难度会更大，你也会看到更多的人被拒签。因此我们只是看申请人的现在，我们力图确定申请人现在是不是想移民美国，还是打算毕业后回国。

　　记：坦率地说，您这个人挺和气的，并非“机器人一般”，但申请人对某些签证官可没有好印象。

　　白：其实，我们的签证官都是有家庭、有感情的人，说我们是“机器人”是不公道的。我们知道，中国学生赴美留学对中美两国都有益处，因此我们愿意为中国学生发放签证。但我们又是政府官员，政府要求我们按美国的法律办事。

　　今年三月，我们去了北大、清华、人大、南开、武汉大学和山东大学与大学生交谈。我们之所以这样做，就是想让同学们能从我们这里直接得到准确无误的信息;再者，也是想让人们知道我们不是那篇文章的作者所描述的“机器人”官员。我们是普通人，是想做好本职工作的人，就像你，像每个人一样。我们的很多签证官都是25-30岁的年轻人，比申请学生签证的人大不了多少，我们不是躲起来只想说“不不不”的官僚。我们想让将来有可能申请签证的人们知道，我们是普通人，不必害怕我们。

　　我们的大使说过，对于很多中国人来说，去见签证官可能是第一次与美国政府官员打交道。他们平时在报纸上和电视节目里看到美国人，但对某些人来说这是第一次与美国人说话，也许是第一次与外国人说话。我常常对我的工作人员强调这一点，我告诉他们：“在大使馆里，你可能比别人更多地代表美国。”这也是为什么当我知道有谁对待申请人态度不当，听到谁的嗓门提高或是类似的事情，我都要认真对待，并且肯定要为此与他们谈话。

　　J:Some applicants complain that officers don’t at least scan the documents that they submit, even new documents, before they say no. This makes applicants very angry. What is your view?

　　B:I can understand their response. However, it is important to remember that applying for a US visa is not a documentary process, that is to say, there are no documents (other than certain required documents such as the passport, visa application form, visa receipt fee and I-20) which will qualify a person for a visa. Our officers are trained to evaluate visa applicants based on the information presented on the application form, the

　　answers provided to the officers’ questions and our understanding of the applicants’ situations in China. Additional documents may be asked for if the visa officer believes he or she needs more information to make a decision. However, we encourage all applicants to look at our website (www.usembassy-china.org.cn) to get more ideas as to what types of documentation a consular official may ask for during a visa interview. For students we recommend that each have a copy of his or her transcript, the

　　acceptance letter from the US school,documenta- tion regarding finances, and stan-dardized test scores (from the TOEFL, GRE, etc.). However, our visa officers can often make a final decision on a case without looking at these documents.

　　J:Every applicant prepares hard for the interview, and some applicants come from far outside Beijing, yet a 4-minute interview can decide their fate. Doesn’t that seem rather rushed?

　　B:We would like to spend more time on each case - a half-hour,an hour - but at present we have to deal with 600 applicants every day, so on average each applicant gets 3-5 minutes. We just don’t have any choice. If we had more time, we would make better, more accurate, decisions. Maybe there would be more refusals, I don’t know, but the decisions would be better.

　　But though the time is short, we are very careful. It is generally known that a very low percentage of Chinese students who go to the US to study return to China at the completion of their degree programs. It is therefore incumbent upon our visa officers to adjudicate these cases carefully and ensure that each individual is in full compliance with the immigration laws before we issue a visa.

　　J:But the visas of those who haven’t returned were also issued by the visa section. Doesn’t that mean that your judgements were faulty when you issued them their visas?

　　B:That’s a good point. Many other people have asked us about this. You know, our job is not to predict what’s going to happen to somebody in the future. Many things happen to people who go overseas. For example, some fall in love and get married, or after getting a degree they are offered a job. Our law allows these things to happen. We recognize that things can happen to people that are beyond their control - and beyond our control. We don’t try to read the future. If Congress wants us to do so, our job will be even more difficult and you’ll see even more people being denied. So we try to look at a person right now: We try to determine right now if there is a plan or intention to emigrate to the US or an intention to return to China.

　　J:If I may speak frankly, you make a positive impression on me, friendly not “robotic”, but applicants do not have a good impression of some visa officers.

　　B:In fact, though, all of us officers have families and feelings. It is not fair to say we are “robotic”. We know that Chinese students going to America benefit both China and America, so we’d like to issue visas to Chinese students. But we are government officials, called upon to apply American law.

　　In March we went to Beida, Qinghua, Renda, Nankai, Wuhan University and Shandong University to talk to students. We did that because we wanted students to get good, accurate information directly from us. Another reason was to let people know that we are not “robotic” officials, as the author writes. We are people. We are human beings trying to do our job, just like you, like everybody. Many of our officers are also young people 25 to 30 years old, not too much older than the applicants. We are not bureaucrats hiding from people, trying to say no no no! We want to demonstrate to potential applicants that we are normal people, that there is no need to be scared of us.

　　The ambassador says that for many Chinese people, dealing with a visa officer may be their first personal encounter with US government officials. They read newspapers and watch TV, but this is the first time they’ve spoken to an American, perhaps to any foreigner for

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