US visa process needs overhaul

United States, 14th May: US visa system is in immediate need of reform if it wants to attract increased number of foreign visitors, states US Travel Association.

The new US visa process must aim for making the process of US immigration easier for the foreign travelers wanting to come and visit the US, alleges the US travel group in its latest report titled ‘Ready for Takeoff’.

The report outlines various ways for increasing foreign travelers to the US.

No increase in international visitors to the US—The US Travel Association has alleged that the number of foreign visitors coming to the US has almost remained same between 2000 and 2010 while the number of foreigners traveling worldwide has gone up to 60 million.

One of the reasons for lesser number of people choosing US as a favored destination for traveling abroad is the burdensome process of US visitor visa which is driving millions of travelers to other nations, the report highlights.

Long US travel visa processing times—The US Travel Association maintained that the reason for lesser number of international travelers choosing the US during the last decade is the long US visa processing times which are as high as 145 days. President of the US Travel Association, Roger Dow, stated that there are several unnecessary obstacles imposed on the foreign visitors wanting to come to the US and this is a factor restricting the economic development of the nation. For Chinese and Brazilians, getting a US visa could take as long as six months, the report maintains.

New US jobs possible through increasing foreign travelers in the nation—The US trade group further maintains that by tapping the vast international travel market in the next 8 years time, the nation can create 1.3 million new US jobs. And this could bring $859 billion for the US economy.

Every single dollar spent by foreign travelers in the US will contribute towards expansion of US economy, the report asserts.

Expedite processing of US visitor visa applications—Hence, there is an imminent need for speeding-up of the US visa process and reduce the waiting times for US visitor visa approvals by hiring additional consular workers and by making use of telecommunications, the travel group asserts.

There is a need to tap the foreign travelers from China and Brazil to attract them to the US, Dow clarifies. And this can happen by bringing the waiting times for US visitor visas to as low as 10 days. In addition, extension of US visa waiver scheme can also prove to be of great help in this regard.