PASSPORTS AND VISAS 101

San Francisco, known as the “City by the Bay”, is one of America’s most famous and beautiful cities.  Located in Northern California, San Francisco is just one of the many cities that together make up the San Francisco Bay Area, or Bay Area for short.  The 14-county combined statistical area (that comprises the Bay Area) has nearly 10 million people, making it the fifth-most populous region in the United States.  The Bay Area includes cities such as Oakland, Hayward, Berkeley, Vallejo, Concord, Pleasanton, Fremont, San Jose, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Sausalito, and San Rafael.  The economy of the Bay Area is one of the most vigorous and entrepreneurial on the planet.  Silicon Valley (in the southern part of the Bay Area) has attracted engineers from all over the world, including those from Brazil like computer scientist Hugo Barra and Instagram co-founder Michel Krieger.  There are dozens of successful Brazilian technology entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, and many of them first came to the Bay Area as students to attend UC Berkeley and Stanford University.  Stanford has close connections to Brazil through its Lemann Center, which provides training to Brazilian students and visiting scholars.  There are an estimated 40,000 Brazilians living in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Los estudiantes internacionales, ejecutivos de negocios, y otros recién llegados al área metropolitana de Dallas-Fort Worth pueden aprovechar las oportunidades regionales para mejorar sus habilidades de inglés o prepararse para una educación en los EE. UU. inscribiéndose en uno de los muchos cursos y programas de idiomas de la región.

Conocidos como ESL (inglés como segundo idioma, por sus siglas en inglés) o ESOL (inglés para hablantes de otros idiomas, por sus siglas en inglés), estos programas ayudan a los estudiantes y otras personas que no son hablantes nativos de inglés a adquirir o mejorar sus habilidades antes de comenzar la universidad o ingresar al lugar de trabajo en los Estados Unidos. Hay una amplia variedad de programas de ESL disponibles. Algunos son recordatorios para quienes aprendieron inglés en sus países de origen. Estas clases se enfocan en las variaciones americanas en pronunciación, vocabulario, modismos y verbalización. Otros proporcionan una introducción básica para principiantes que hablan poco o nada de inglés. Los cursos pueden preparar a los estudiantes académicos para aprobar el examen TOEFL (Prueba de Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, por sus siglas en inglés), que requieren muchas universidades de EE. UU. al admitir hablantes de inglés no nativos.

Charlotte, située en Caroline du Nord et considérée comme l’“entrée internationale vers le sud", est une ville métropolitaine qui offre une très belle qualité de vie. Les nouveaux venus dans cette sympathique ville qui ont besoin d’améliorer leurs compétences linguistiques en anglais ou de préparer leurs études aux États-Unis peuvent s’inscrire à l’un des nombreux programmes ESL (English as a Second Language) proposés.

Charlotte est non seulement la plus grande ville de Caroline du Nord, mais constitue également son centre culturel, économique et névralgique. Surnommé la “Queen City”, Charlotte représente une bonne base de départ pour explorer les montagnes et les plages environnantes, ainsi que les états voisins de la côte est. La ville abrite aussi certaines des plus grandes universités, telles que l’University of North Carolina. Ses attractions culturelles incluent le Charlotte Museum, le Mint Museum ainsi que d’autres institutions; mais aussi de nombreuses performances se tenant dans le Belk Theater; sans oublier les galeries et les boutiques du quartier artistique de North Davidson.

Houston, no Texas, a maior cidade da região Sul e a quarta maior dos Estados Unidos, é uma cidade metropolitana pujante com uma população internacional diversa. Recém-chegados à cidade talvez se interessem em se matricular em algum dos programas ESL (English as a Second Language, ou Inglês como Segunda Língua) da cidade para aperfeiçoarem suas habilidades na língua inglesa ou se prepararem para uma formação nos EUA.

Oficialmente apelidada de “Space City” por seu papel nos programas de exploração espacial da NASA, Houston também é conhecida como “Bayou City” por conta das 10 grandes hidrovias que fluem na área. Ficou famosa também como “The Big Heart” após acolher mais de 150 mil sobreviventes de Louisiana após o Furacão Katrina atingir o estado em 2005. Seus times esportivos profissionais geraram ainda mais dois apelidos: “Clutch City”, referenciando os ciclos de campeonatos dos Rockets da NBA e dos Astros da MLB, e “Crush City” pelo grande número de home runs rebatidos pelos Astros em 2015. Outros times profissionais incluem os Houston Texas da NFL; franquias de futebol Dynamo (masculino) e Dash (feminino); e o time de rugby Sabercats.

UPDATED April 4, 2022

The city of Dallas and the surrounding metropolitan area is the most populous metropolis in the southern United States and fourth-most populous in the country.  The Dallas metropolitan area—known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, or DFW by local residents—has a population of 7.6 million people and includes the cities of Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Irving, Garland, Richardson, Frisco, Mesquite, Denton, Grand Prairie, and McKinney.  The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, located in North Texas, is one of the fastest growing regions in the country thanks to its low cost of living, low taxes, abundance of resources, and ease of doing business.  These characteristics are attractive to immigrants, especially those from India.  There are now over 125,000 Indian people (citizens of India and Indian Americans) living in the Dallas area and 450,000 in the state of Texas, making it the second-largest Indian population in the United States, after California.  Dallas has the second-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and has several excellent hospitals, making it an attractive city for Indian immigrants seeking job opportunities in the high-tech and medical fields.  The area is also home to over 100 Indian restaurants and each year hosts one of the largest Diwali celebrations in the country.

International students, business executives, and other foreign newcomers to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area can take advantage of regional opportunities to improve their English skills or prepare for a U.S. education by enrolling in one of the region’s many language courses and programs.

Known as ESL (English as a Second Language) or ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), these programs help students and others who are not native English speakers acquire or enhance their skills before they start college or enter the workplace in the United States. There are a wide variety of ESL programs available. Some are refreshers for those who learned English in their native countries. These classes focus on American variations in pronunciation, vocabulary, idioms, and verbalization. Others provide a basic introduction for beginners who speak little or no English. Courses may prepare academic students to pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam, which many U.S. colleges and university require when admitting non-native English speakers.

Charlotte is the 23rd-most populous city in the United States and is the most populous city in the state of North Carolina.  The Charlotte metropolitan area is a sixteen-county region that stretches into the state of South Carolina and includes the towns of Concord, Gastonia, Huntersville, Kannapolis, Indian Trail, Mooresville, Monroe, Salisbury, Matthews, Statesville, Rock Hill (SC), and Fort Mill (SC).  Known as the Queen City, this metropolis of 2.6 million people has been one of the country’s fastest-growing cities the past two decades.  Charlotte’s youthful population, low cost of living, and geographic location in America’s Sun Belt, have made it an attractive destination for business investment.  This investment has brought steady job growth to the region and is attracting more and more immigrants, including those from Africa.  While the population of Gambians in Charlotte is small, their numbers are still large enough for them to organize social events and celebrations through the Charlotte Gambian Association and North Carolina Gambian Association.  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (about a 2-hour drive from Charlotte) offers classes in Wolof, one of the main languages spoken in Banjul, the capital and commercial hub of The Gambia. 

Atlanta has a population of over 6 million people, making it the 9th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.  Atlanta is the capital of Georgia, which is the 8th most populous of the 50 states.  The city and surrounding area, known as the Atlanta metropolitan area, is also the commercial capital of the Southeast United States.  The metropolitan area includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, Norcross, Tucker, Lithonia, Decatur, Mableton, Clarkston, Conyers, and others.  Atlanta has become an extremely diverse and international city.  The Atlanta metropolitan area has nearly 85,000 immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and has one of the largest populations of West Africans in the country, including a few hundred immigrants from The Gambia.  Although the number of Gambians in Atlanta is small (there are only about 10,000 Gambians in the United States), the community comes together for special events like The Gambia’s Independence Anniversary, weddings, and religious holidays.  There are also nonprofit organizations like the Gambian Christians Organization and the Atlanta Gambian Emergency Relief Association.  At Georgia Tech, students can study Wolof, one of the languages spoken in The Gambia.

Хьюстон, штат Техас, крупнейший город на юге и четвертый по величине город в Соединенных Штатах, – это процветающий мегаполис, население которого составляют представители различных стран мира. Новички в городе могут захотеть записаться на одну из городских программ ESL (английский в качестве второго языка), чтобы улучшить свои знания языка или же подготовиться к обучению в США.

Официальным прозвищем города является «космический город» благодаря его роли в программах НАСА по исследованию космоса, Хьюстон также известен как «город заливов» из-за 10 основных водных путей, протекающих через этот район. Название «большое сердце» город получил после того, как здесь нашли убежище более 150 000 выживших после урагана Катрина, обрушившегося на Луизиану в 2005 году. Благодаря профессиональным спортивным командам у города появились еще два прозвища: «город концовок», после победы Хьюстон Рокетс в чемпионатах НБА и Главной лиги бейсбола, а также «город-давка» за большое количество хоумранов, кото

UPDATED April 4, 2022

The Greater Miami Area is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the United States and has a population of 6.2 million people.  The metropolitan area is composed of Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County.  Its main cities include Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Miramar, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, and Boca Raton.  This is a diverse community where 40% of the population was born in another country, and it is one of America’s most important cities for international trade.  Miami is a business hub for the Latin American region and is often thought of as the unofficial “Capital of Latin America”.  The city is also trending in the news for its efforts to become a technology hub, which in turn is prompting more Indian immigrants with backgrounds in engineering to consider Miami as a place to relocate.  There are thousands of Indian people already in South Florida and there is a strong base of professional and cultural organizations supporting this immigrant community such as the India-US Chamber of Commerce of South Florida and the Miami Association of Indian Americans for Culture and Arts, as well as other organizations representing various ethnic groups such as Telugu, Bengali, Sindhi, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, and Tamil people.