A US Embassy official is seeking to dispel the notion that visa seekers to the United States are in for a harder time than before 9-11.

Dr. Bruce Armstrong, Cultural Affairs Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Manila, said the United States still very much welcomes foreign visitors of all kinds.

"I realize that in the years following the attacks on Sept. 11 2001, there is an unfortunate sense going on around the world that somehow the United States has shut its doors, and that it does not welcome students and foreign visitors. That is absolutely not the case," he told reporters in a press conference at Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Thursday.

He said that since 9-11, the United States adopted the motto, "Secure borders, Open doors."

"It is important for the US or any country to achieve security with its borders…but it is equally important for the US to maintain open doors to foreign students and visitors, including from the Philippines." Armstrong said the rules for getting a US Visa have not changed because of 9-11.

Armstrong encouraged Filipino students to seek opportunities to study in the United States.

He said they want students to realize that they are welcome and getting a student visa to the United States is less difficult and less strenuous than they may think.

Armstrong was in Dumaguete to renew the Memorandum of Agreement with Silliman University for hosting one of 14 Centers for American Studies throughout the country. This facility, located inside the Silliman University Library, contains books, periodicals and online resources about the United States of America.

"In terms of the function of this center, it is very much in the spirit of democracy which is providing people with information and allowing them to make up their own mind. It is not about giving anyone …to think about the United States in a certain way," Armstrong said.*AP

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