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Hi, everyone. I've been growing my hair out for 13 months. Now I'm going to apply for a student visa to US. I've been told that I will probably not be let through because of my hair. But I REALLY don't want to cut it short even just a little bit. And I don't think it will be a problem. What do you think? Please help me.
I would leave it long. When I was a student at college
all those years ago I had long hair. (In the 80s it was knee length). I had no problem in college with the long hair. I'm a resident so I didn't need a visa.
You don't say which country you're from. It would be YOUR country that might be the problem, not the U.S. (especially at your length).
But if it is a problem that would prevent you from getting to your goal of getting to the U.S., it would be your decision to let a haircut get in your way. Your hair isn't that long to begin with.
If a haircut would increase chances of getting the VISA, I would cut my hair if I was in that situation. Hair will grow. Opportunities sometimes only come around once in a lifetime.
Reach your goal, then grow your hair!
I come from China. And would it be less possible to get visa because of my hair?
I guess the first question I have is how are you able to access this web site? My understanding is China blocks access to all sites on the internet.
As far as y0ur hair you won't have problems in the US of A.
I don't know if China will pose a problem (although your hair
is relatively short.)
China actually tried that, but it didn't last long. It too much hampered research at universities and the conduct of business by firms there. What they learned was that no country can prosper in the 21st century without the Internet.
Countries sporadically try to block large social networking sites but people find ways around that blocking. Such sites are targeted because protest can be organized easily on them. Blocking parts of the Internet must be done site by site, though, and for a country to block a small site like MLHH that is not used much for anything political would be unusual.
I just looked at the stats for my personal web site. Two percent of its visitors in March were from China. Canada, Germany, and the UK also had about 2% of visitors. As the chart above shows, people from all over the world will look at your site on the Internet. My site has "On Being a Longhair" on it and a few similar documents like that, but mostly it's travel pictures.
Just like with the GPS satellites, the Internet was created by the U.S. military with our tax dollars, but everyone uses it. I occasionally get e-mails from Chinese web visitors about something on my site. Yes, Chinese people can look at the Internet.
Bill
I have a friend who works in IT who visited China last month.
He could not access the internet until after he left China.
How are they doing that when the government in China filters out
everything?
Well, if Facebook is his whole life, he could have thought that.
They don't. That is the point.
Bill
China does not block EVERYTHING.
I know they block Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot, Wordpress, YouTube, IMDB, Lindekin, Flickr, Wikileaks, other websites like Amnesty International, some international news sites and Wikipedia articles.
However, Chinese people use QQ . Its a software made in 1998 in China. Thats like a chatting software, email and online profile all together.
They also have alternative websites like Baidu. Several blocked websites can be accessed through proxies or other special software .
Here all the well known social websites have been blocked, but for a small website talking about hair, they won't care for. And apart from some large scaled websites, we don't have problem viewing other ones.
In addition. The interviewer is from the US, so I don't think s/he would mind it.
If you are trying to get a visa to come to the United States, I do not think you need to cut your hair unless you think China will not allow it. United States will not be concerned with your hair.
By the way, your hair looks great...
Thank you, somebody told me that it'd get in the way. But here few guys have their hair like mine, so I think they're just being silly. And my hair is actually kind of uneven, since I've never got it a trim. So I'm surprised to hear that you like my hair. thanks again.
My wife's from China and I lived in Beijing for two years. Nice place and great food :D ! When I lived there, 10 years ago, some guys had their hair long but not too many. I wonder if the times are changing :o ... if so, it's a good thing :) !
Looking great and keep it long - cheers ^_^ !!!
Thanks, I was born and raised in Beijing. And I'm glad to see that you've once lived in Beijing. Yeah, it's a nice place to visit. I hope you can come back here one day.
I visited my in-laws again back in 2009, so it's been a while since I've been back but a little more recent than the time I lived in Beijing ;) . I lived in Fangzhuang (Fengtai District) with my wife and my in-laws live north of Beishatan (Chaoyang District)... just next to (east) of the first toll gate on the Badaling Expressway (there are car manufacturing dormitories there). Their house certainly looked much different in 2009 with the Beijing Olympics having gone by than it did in 2006 :p !
Where are you planning to study here in the states :) ? Get ready for a totally different lifestyle ^_^ (are you excited :o ???)!!!
As long as the place that you are attending isn't a degree mill you should be fine. If you are still concerned about it tie it back and tuck what you can't tie back behind your ears.
Good luck on your studies no matter where you go
Thanks. I'm considering to hide it under my stocking cap. But it's spring now, so it'd be somewhat weird. And I'm worrying that it's not polite to wear a cap when talk to the interviewer.
American colleges have some pretty sweet swag... you could pick up a hat with something about your college on it (EG https://store.cornell.edu/p-185575-cap-classic-cornell-bear-black.aspx for me) if you want to wear a hat; also it shows your enthusiasm for school...
Although I'm pretty sure you can't wear a hat in your visa picture, in which case you should learn how to tie it back
So long as you look neat and tidy, and from your photo you do, I can't imagine that anyone interviewing you for a visa would care one way or another about the length of your hair.
Bill
I can't possibly imagine that the length of your hair would make the slightest difference in obtaining a VISA to the US.
No I do not believe that you need to. Hair will be the least thing that anyone would worry about.
Yeah. I deadly agree with you. The interviewer, as far as I know, will be from the US. So, I don't think s/he will mind it. But unfortunately, many people here in my country think it'd leave a bad impression. It's just how they feel if they were the interviewers.
I would ignore them: they may be either cautious or simply do not believe that much of the rest of the world is quite used to men having long hair and see it as a personal choice.
Just go for it and don't worry.
Hey, I dont think your hair (at this length) will be a problem for your VISA application.
I have applied for a Tourist Visa to visit the USA back in 2012 when I was growing my hair out and had no problems ( In fact I got it approved for the maximum amount of time available, 10 years) . I believe tourst visas and student ones are way too different on the application process but anyway, I dont believe they will focus on your hair length but they WILL be interested on your financial situation, family background, etc.
However, I would try to keep my hair neat and dress accordingly for the interview.
You have superb hair and scissors should come nowhere near it.
I think that much of the rest of the world is far more used to men with long hair and would think nothing of it - probably would not even notice.
Don't wreck your hair for some unknowing nonsense which you are being subjected to.
You will be fine. The length you are at would not even be considered "long" by some standards. It has that longish, stylized look that is actually quite popular here.
I had no problem at all when I applied for a visitor visa in 2002 and for GC the following year - long hair, full beard and all. I was living in Denmark at the time and I went to the US embassy in Copenhagen. There were other factors in their decision to let me in and hair length was not one of them.
--
A Linux Longhair
As an American citizen who hold Visas for several countries, one of which is China, I can assure you that your hair will make no difference. Absolutely non at all.
It has nothing to do with how we consider or process Visas. Even a tattoo across your face would not matter.
That may well depend on the tatoo. If you had the tattoo Charles Manson has that might very well matter.
I would also like to add that certain things like your cultural/family background also matters.
I have a lot of friends with arabic/middle-eastern descent who have been denied visas to enter the USA as tourists. On the other hand, I also have others with arabic/middle-eastern descent who got an American visa but upon arrival at the airport they were detained and interviewed in a separate room by US Border officers and they were asked things like "Where does your last name come from?" etc etc . Yes, they made a big deal because of the last name and the physical appareance. This particular case happened to a friend whose last name is Syrian-Libanese.
It's also known that people with certain physical features have more chances of getting a US visa. Like, if you're white, blonde and blue eyes you have more chances of getting your visa approved than someone who is dark-skinned , brown eyes, etc. This is not by any mean a discriminatory comment coming from me, this is the experience from people I know who have been through the US visa process.
Regarding tattoos, I think it DOES matters. They will not care if you have a tattoo in you arm. But if you have tattoos on your face, they will probably relate it to something like drugs use, etc.
The "cool" thing about getting your US visa approved is that once you get it stamped on your passport, any visa process (from any country) you face in the future will be approved.
Experts say that the US visa is the most difficult visa process in the world, so if you were able to get a US Visa, you can get a visa to enter any country.
I suppose my response was a bit generic. I referring to various cultural tattoos, rather than "artistic ones". My purpose was to highlight that cultural differences often lead to differences in personal appearance and accepted norms, like hair length. Those cultural norms, that might not be present in the US, are not an issue when applying for a visa.
As both of the previous posts mention, yes, some types of tattoo could be associated with various negative traits, and cause a problem. Though, they would have to be very large, or very obscene.I do actually know people with tattoos on their necks and faces who received visas, and even citizenship. Though admittedly I don't know whether it was more difficult for them than for someone else.
Anyway, the point is, your hair is a non issue. If you are concerned, tie it back to create a close profile. But please do not cut it unnecessarily.
There is now a clear message including from someone who has applied, no need to cut. Keep it growing it looks good.
Hi pxc3110,
No I would definitely not cut my hair if it wasn't necessary! Your hair looks awesome and I don't think it will come up as an issue. Please keep it growing and let us know how everything goes! Welcome to the board!
Ted
Hey there, I can't think of any reason from a US governmental perspective why your longish hair would cause issues with you getting a student visa. On another note, your hair looks great at 13 months!
-Tommy