Azadeh has been in the U.S. for 3 years as a PhD student at the University of Maryland, during which time she hasn’t been able to see her family back in Iran.

Up until recently, Iranian students could only receive a single-entry visa, which meant their visa would allow them to enter the country one time only. If they left, they would have to reapply for a new visa.

“It’s been very tough for me,” she says. Throughout most of our previous conversation about applying to the U.S. and getting her visa she has been giggly and upbeat, but when we turn to this topic, it’s clear it hits home for her.

I know some people that changed their mind about coming to the U.S. just because of the visa issue. They never could imagine that they couldn’t come back even if something happened.

Azadeh tells me her parents have thought about coming to visit her in the U.S., but the family member she’s closest with is her sister, and it’s likely her sister would be refused the travel visa to come over.

If I cannot see her it doesn’t work for me.  And she cannot come with my parents.  There is a very high risk to all of them be refused, rejected getting a visa because of my younger sister that wants to come with them.

I give her a confused look, and Azadeh explains it’s because the visa officer might assume the family is trying to immigrate.

Making the change

The State Department announced in May that Iranian students would now be able to receive multiple-entry visas to study in the U.S. The EducationUSA Iran advisor, who joined Azadeh and I in our discussion about visas, says that after the announcement, EducationUSA received hundreds of emails from grateful Iranians.

Read the rest of this entry »

As Iranian student Azadeh tells me about the rumors that circulated among her friends about how to get a student visa to the U.S., she sounds like the foreign students I’ve encountered on so many internet forums.

“People say that if she takes the, for example, the yellow page it means she’s going to issue the visa for you, if she takes the blue one it means she’s gonna reject you.”

The US embassy in Ankara, Turkey has a special section for Iranian visa applicants

But there’s one rumor Azadeh tells me that’s unlikely to go around in other countries:

“Everybody says, ‘Oh don’t go to Dubai,’” Azadeh says of her friends back in Iran. “‘They don’t give you a visa.  Everybody that went to Cyprus they got it, but in Dubai it’s so much harder.’”

Where to go to get a visa is just one hurdle students applying to the U.S. from Iran encounter that most other international students never have to consider.  There’s no U.S. embassy or consulate in Iran, so students have to travel to one of a select number of neighboring countries where the embassy will accept Iranian applicants.

Azadeh is a 3rd year PhD student in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland. We meet to talk about what it’s like to apply from Iran to study in the U.S., and are joined by the EducationUSA Iran advisor (who asked to remain anonymous).

A common ambition

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a great discussion happening on Quora between a group of Singaporeans discussing what it’s like to study in the U.S.

A lot of what they talk about we’ve discussed before, such as trying to fit in but maintain your home culture, or being in a minority ethnic group for the first time.  But these two stood out to me as things we haven’t really touched on:

1) Transitioning to American English

Hongwan Liu writes:

Singaporean English is so completely different from American English that using what we think of as ‘English’ would be an insurmountable communication barrier to Americans, yet we know no other way of speaking English. The need to learn a new way of speaking doesn’t really occur to you till you actually arrive in the US, and when it finally hits you, it suddenly becomes a struggle to speak what is technically your first language. I must say the American accent is really unnatural to me: it took me the better part of 3 years to achieve an accent that is not really American, but at least not placeable as being clearly foreign.

Read the rest of this entry »

Our Glossary of Confusing Words post this week about the words “explain” and “describe” generated another glossary submission: Swamplands, as in “D.C. is built on top of swamplands.”

Rather than wait until what I’m now calling #glossaryday (aka Monday, which is when I’ve been posting the new glossary submissions…I know, it’s not that funny or clever), I wanted to address this one right away.

A swampland is just land with a lot of swamps, also known as a wetland. It’s land that is flooded with water much or all of the time.  You might sometimes hear the words bog or marsh used to describe a similar type of environment, although technically they are all slightly different things.  In the U.S., the most famous swamp is probably the Everglades in Florida.

Read the rest of this entry »

My Chinese-American roommate (and best friend) and I.

In response to the post What Made a Zimbabwean Decide to Study Chinese…in China, Mya asked a couple of questions. She said she’s in a similar situation to Senzeni and wanted her advice. Since it’s always good to share, in case any of you can benefit from the answers as well, here are Mya’s questions and Senzeni’s answers:

1. Have you decided your major? Economics or natural sciences? Right now, I’m having a problem to decide whether to take master degree in social sciences-related major or major that relates with science and technology.

I still have not decided on my major. Initially, I thought I would major in Economics. I had never taken an Economics course before but I wanted to major in Econ because I felt that the chances of landing a good job with an Econ degree were higher.

Unfortunately, even after two semesters of Econ, I still have not fallen in love with it and hence, I will be trying out the natural science track next semester.

Read the rest of this entry »

We previously defined a number of words that you might see used as prompts for essay writing – establish, construct, build and assess – and explained what you’re being asked to do when you see each of them.

“Explain” and “describe” are two more words you might encounter on exams (as well as in everyday life), and they have very different meanings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pop singer Rebecca Black

Many of you have probably heard of Rebecca Black and her song, “Friday.” Many of you are probably sick of it. But did you know that it’s helping unite the world?

People all over the globe have been translating and covering Rebecca Black. Hey, whatever brings people together, right? So here, for your Friday enjoyment, are 11 languages-worth of “Friday,” from Malay to Swahili and everything in between.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past few days, the BBC has been ranting about what writer Matthew Engel called “ugly and pointless” ways American usage differs from British English. They even collected a list of 50 American words and expressions that Brits find annoying, irritating, and even infuriating. It includes things like:

“Can I get a … ” (as a way to ask for something)

“24/7″ (to say 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

“Going forward” (to mean from now on)

“Bi-weekly” (to say once every two weeks)

There have been plenty of responses to the list, both from people who support the annoyed Brits, and those who defend the Americans. Whichever side you fall on, these are some great examples of the (often unexpected) ways British and American English are different.

Screenshot from accessboston.org

I’m currently in the midst of a traditional rite of passage for American college students: the summer internship.  Many of my peers chose to spend their summers doing grunt work at law offices, hospitals, or financial consulting groups.

I decided to do my internship as the media manager for a nonprofit called the Action Center for Undergraduate Services and Scholarships (or ACCESS for short). ACCESS provides free financial aid advice and advocacy to high students and their families in Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts, to help them overcome financial barriers to higher education.

I didn’t know how much I didn’t know

I’m attending college largely thanks to financial aid: Princeton, my school, was recently included on a Washington Post list of the nation’s top-12 loan-free aid policies, and I’m a grateful recipient of a yearly grant from the University.  As such, I came to ACCESS thinking that I was pretty well-versed in the financial aid process of FAFSAs, CSS profiles, and scholarship applications, but the past two months here have shown me that my experiences barely scratched the surface of higher education financing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week we shared a post from VOA intern Matthew Kopfer, who talked about common mistakes Russians make when learning English, and why some of them are very funny to Americans.

Since then, some of you have shared your own funny mistakes, or ones you’ve heard your friends make. Sure, no one likes to make a mistake, but being able to laugh at yourself when it happens makes learning way more fun!

Homayoon wrote:

Once a road in a rural township was under construction and it was supposed to be asphalted. While US military convoy crossing the area, the road was blocked. The American Soldier asked his interpretor that why the is blocked, the interpretor doesn’t understand how to tell the word asphalt, he translates the word “Pukhtan” from his native language which means cooking. He respond his U.S soldier that “A road company is cooking the road”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week’s entry to the Glossary of Confusing Words was all about pairs of words that have similar meanings, but slight distinctions in use. Well, apparently that post inspired many more of you to submit word pairs of your own!

So here are three more pairs of words for you!

Might/May

These words were submitted to the Glossary by two different people. One of them asked:

“My child may have been killed by a car”. Is she uncertain as to the fate of her little lamb, or has she rescued the capering young goat in the nick of time?

Both “might” and “may” express uncertainty and possibility. In the example above, the women does not know whether or not her child has been killed by the car. And she equally could have said, “My child might have been killed by a car” to express the same thought.

Read the rest of this entry »

Alex talks about why he chose to come to the U.S. after doing his undergraduate studies in Malaysia, and some of the challenges he dealt with in his first year at American University.

This guest post was originally written for our Russian sister blog, Альма-матер. The writer is an American student, Matthew Kupfer (who’s also currently a VOA intern!). He talks about some common mistakes made by Russian speakers when they’re learning English – and explains what Americans hear when they hear those mistakes:

I’ve spent a few months studying in St. Petersburg, Russia and volunteering in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where I met many Russian-speaking students of the English language. Although I can’t claim to be an expert or linguist of Russian or English, I have noticed a large number of common mistakes made by people from countries of the former USSR speaking English, many of which will put a smile on the face of any American.

I strongly understand the problems and difficulties of learning a foreign language because I have studied the Russian language for three years. So, I have created a short list of four common mistakes for those who want to improve their English.

Incorrect: I feel myself bad.
Correct: I feel bad.

This is probably the most common mistake made by Russian-speakers, who literally translate the phrase “Я чувствую себя плохо” (I feel myself bad) into English. However, using the word “myself” in this context suggests you are physically touching your own body and determining from this how you feel. Of course, English-speakers understand what you mean, but this mistake still sounds funny.

Read the rest of this entry »

The J-1 visa is a temporary exchange visa (more information on the State Department’s J-1 website), and it’s very commonly used for students to come to the U.S. in the summer to work and travel. The Irish Voice put together a list of tips for Irish students taking advantage of these exchanges….but the advice is relevant to anyone coming to the U.S. on a J-1 visa (or any student visa).

The two that stood out to me:

1) Beware of Internet scams

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m thrilled that their advice for avoiding scams is to…do your research! Be wary of anyone who asks you to pay money online for accommodations, or anything else, and do some simple looking around to make sure they’re legit.

2) Reach out to your contacts

Reach out to every person you know already living in your destination. It could be family, friends or a long lost cousin, it doesn’t matter who. Just send them an email or drop them a phone call them and let them know you are looking for a job and accommodation.

Read the rest of this entry »