Can Schengen visa extend to other western countries? (cost, country, German)

[yueng-ling]

I am a PhD student in an American university, and my article got accepted in a prestigious conference held in Europe this September.

OK, because I am a citizen of China, the visa requirements drive me crazy. First of all, I need a new US student visa to come back, because I changed school in the US and the previous visa expired. (My status is still legal, just need another entry visa.) The visa can only be renewed out of the US. I don't want to go back to China now because I have work to do, and the visa interview appointment waiting list in China is already 3 weeks long.

I could go to Canada to renew my visa, but then I will need a Canadian visa to go there. And according to internet info, it can take a month to process a Canadian tourist visa.

Alright, I still have the option to go to Mexico, which costs me 1000 dollars (you have to stay in Mexico for 4 days). Needles to say it is not the pleasant thing for an individual who speaks no Spanish and has no tour plan to stay in the same Mexican city for days.

Finally, I still need a Schengen visa to attend the conference. The small country only has a consulate in NYC besides the embassy in DC, so I will have to travel there. I could apply for a German visa in the city I live in, but then I have to prove I will stay in Germany most of the time. And you guess what, I can get a Schengen visa only if I have a valid US visa.

Can North America and Europe just allow those who have a tourist, business or student visa of any country to make short visits to other countries? Technically I do not see a problem.
If that is the case, I only need to update my US student visa. If Canada can even allow a current US student to visit it without a visa, I could save the trip to Mexico too, because Canada is close to where I live. The US has very detailed monitoring on all the international students after 9/11, so I don't think that will cause any trouble to Canada.

Before even attending the conference, I will have to spend over 1000 dollars and waste a week. And the cost cannot be reimbursed.

[botticelli]

The US is so paranoid of its borders assuming everyone would desperately want to stay illegally, so it is impossible. It doesn't even have this arrangement with Canada.

[Frihed89]

It sounds like you are out of luck. Turn your conference paper into a journal paper and submit it, if your advisor thinks you stand a chance. It will look much better on your resume, if it is published. Conference papers count for 0.0.