US consular officials share advice for visa applicants

Updates on the US education system and visa process were shared at last week's ICEF Moscow Workshop. International educators and student counselors attended an educational session given by two representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia: Ken Walsh, Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service, and Peter Sweeney, Vice Consul, Consular Section, U.S. Department of State. The US visa process has seen major recent improvements such as new, more convenient payment and delivery options. Attendees heard an overview of the student visa process as well as updates on partnership activities between agents and US schools. A summary of grant, scholarship, and US educational system resources was also provided. "Over 700,000 international higher education students are studying in the US right now," Walsh declared. "The United States is a very welcoming country. For example, 90% of our [Russian] applicants who come to register for a B-type visa at the US Embassy receive a visa." Watch our video below to hear Walsh's tips on how to best meet the requirements to obtain a visa, the potential of the Russian market, and the US government's role with ICEF and qualified agents. We caught up with Walsh during last week's ICEF Moscow Workshop - the region’s premier annual student recruitment networking event. Providing international educators with the opportunity to meet quality agents from all parts of Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, this workshop is the must-attend event in this important growing market. The ICEF Moscow Workshop continued to grow in 2012, recording an impressive 20% increase in attendance and 24% more business appointments in comparison to last year's event. In total, 491 participants from nearly 30 countries around the world came to Moscow. During the workshop, 195 educators held pre-scheduled, one-on-one business appointments with 252 agent representatives from Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Latvia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.