I had an interview with the consul today conserdning American J-1 visa. To keep the drama in my posts I wish I could write that there were dozens of people waiting outside of the American Embassy, some of whom came at night to save place in the queque, others camping with whole families. The stories of obtaining an American visa, that I heard when I was a child, containing pictures of pleading Poles in "tourist outfits" presenting themselves before the consul as the avid fans of Great Canyon of Statue of Liberty, are no longer valid.
The entire visit to the Embassy lasted exactly 80minutes. The interviews are conducted in a comfrotable room, and everything is run quickly and smoothly. Yes, people are asked not exactly descreet questions like: how will you pay for the trip if you are unemployed, how close are you with your family in the US, how advanced are your sudies in Poland..ect. This seems to be little bit embarasing for those used to Schengen conveniences but it's bareable :)
J-1-Junk visa?
The thig that concerns me the most is the requirement, by law, of a 2-year home country residence after accomplishing your degree, if it was in any part finanaced by American or your home country government. Fulbright scholars are subject to this requirement. I do understand that financing within Fulbright is treated as educational aid, however this requirement really cuts the wigs of the entire potential that an American graduate- degree posses.
I can only speak about my example (but there are hundres of them online as well). Fulbright sponsors 1/4 of the entire costs of my educational and livings expenses in the US. It means that for the 2 years that my degree last I will have to work to support myself as well as take a huge student loan to cover expenses for the second year of my studies. I know- working next to studying and student loans are part of an ordinary student life in the United States. It is a challenge and that's why I love it. What is hard for me to accept is that having earned a degree (Master's in Public Policy/Developing countries) which is not exactly relevant in Poland, at a university which does not give me a comperative advantage in job market in Poland and finally being burdened with an American-level loan, how would I be able to come back to Poland and pay it back with the 500$/month salary working as a junior-whoever in some public office? And what is even worse- will I be able to get a job that gives me an intellectual reward for having studying at, what I consider to be, one of the most challenging universities in the world?
No, I do not think about abandoning my county for ever after graduation, nor do I yearn to stay in the US for ever. It just seems that his stiff rule does not comply with modern educational and professional model which should allow for free movement whenever and whereever there is an opportunity for development and gaining new experiences.
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