The Lion's Pride vol. 2 (Jun. 2014) | Page 103

96 system; if one step in the process were to fail, an application may be rejected. Yet, this interconnected system itself is perhaps imperfect. Multiple agencies and departments as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Department of Homeland Security’s United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), are involved in the application approval process; but information sharing between agencies is slowed because data and forms collected are not consistent between all the departments. Moreover, the forms and information required may vary for each nation. Finally, the way this information is submitted and used in a visa interview also varies, depending on country of origin. As an example, regardless of origin country, there are five different forms and applications requesting identical financial and the same personal information. The first step in the application process would be to specify the forms needed for each particular kind of visa. Once that is accomplished, the next step is to discern the appropriate cost and applicable fees for each application. Students cannot apply for visas themselves. An educational institution approved by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for generating the required I-20 form, which has a fee, and then