Word: visas
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...rates down the road. Indeed, among respondents in the Sallie Mae/Gallup poll who said they were using credit cards to pay tuition bills, no parents and only 15% of students said they were doing so because they thought they'd get a better interest rate. Nearly half reported using Visa or MasterCard to finance their education because they had no alternative. Some 3% of survey respondents said they have resorted to withdrawing money early from retirement savings, which can carry up to a 10% penalty...
...This year, Matt needs luck keeping Katerina in the States. After she married Matt in the Czech Republic, Katerina says, her 10-year U.S. tourist visa was canceled. "We probably should not have gotten married," she tells Matt while detailing the hassles. A temporary visa expired in July. She says she's supposed to get a green card in September. Without it, Katerina can't re-enter the U.S. Sure, she's a Czech sharpshooter, but, Katerina insists, "I'm not a danger to the country...
That's not to say the government hasn't taken aggressive measures to crack down on domestic dissent. Strict visa policies have kept many activists out of the country, most notably former U.S. Olympic speed skater Joey Cheek, who has worked internationally to stop the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region. Among the many interest groups that have criticized Beijing's policies, overseas Tibetan rights activists have been the busiest protest group during the Games. They've held at least five demonstrations in high-profile spots around the city, and each time they have been detained and deported. "What...
...city's ubiquitous policemen and soldiers repeatedly stop vehicles and individuals for inspection. Then there are other issues, such as the ejection from the city of migrant workers, the government-ordered closure of numerous bars, restaurants and clubs, even the surprising lack of foreign visitors due to strict new visa policies put in place to lessen the threat of terrorists and outside agitators spoiling Beijing's festive mood. And let's not forget the air; despite restrictions on car travel, temporary factory closures and construction-site shutdowns, Beijing's atmosphere remains murky, and pollution levels hover at a level that...
...subway riders are subject to random luggage probes, and a series of checkpoints on roads leading into Beijing have produced miles-long traffic jams. An anticipated Olympics-related tourism boom looks to be more of a damp squib, probably due in part to unusually strict enforcement of visa regulations. Some 500,000 tourists will visit Beijing this month, according to official estimates - that's about the same number that checked out the capital in August last year. One Chinese netizen named Ran Zaifei had this to say about the security restrictions: "Originally the Olympic Games were just that: games...