A Message from Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, regarding Improvements to U.S. Visa Processing

January 29, 2007

The United States is one of the most open and engaged societies on Earth, maintaining vibrant family, commercial and educational links with peoples and countries across the globe. As a leader in the travel industry, you fully appreciate the national economic impact of international visitors. Foreign travelers contribute almost $105 billion annually to the American economy; international students account for an additional $13 billion.

Important as that is, the economic impact is only part of the story. Visitors' positive experiences in the United States indelibly shape their opinions and understanding of our nation and our people. The purpose of this letter is to describe steps we are taking to ensure that our national "welcome" to qualified visitors begins with their application for a U.S. visa, by providing efficient, professional and dignified service to every applicant.

We have worked tirelessly over the past five years to improve the transparency, efficiency and predictability of the U.S. visa process. This has been a real challenge, for our staff and for the traveling public, as necessary legal and procedural changes to the visa process have been introduced continuously throughout this period.

Our task is to vigilantly protect U.S. border security and at the same time to maintain America's openness to legitimate travelers - a policy we call "Secure Borders, Open Doors." Working closely with the international business and travel community, academic groups, and other stakeholders, we have introduced features designed to streamline visa processing. Recent improvements include:

* An electronic visa application form, which reduces errors, eliminates duplicative data-entry, and so increases the number of applicants each office can interview daily; 
* All consular offices post their visa appointment wait times on-line, so travelers can plan accordingly; 
* We give scheduling and processing priority to students and urgent business travelers; 
* We have added 570 consular positions worldwide, and are transferring some positions to ensure that workloads are evenly distributed; 
* We are making significant investment in technology to speed processing and improve data sharing with other government agencies.

I am pleased to say that these efforts have produced results. In Fiscal Year 2006, overall nonimmigrant visa issuance rose 8% over the previous year. Business/tourist visa issuance rose 12% worldwide, and student visa issuances were up 14%. Processing delays have been cut dramatically: 98% of qualified visa applicants are approved within two days of their visa interview. We have "turned the corner" and will continue our efforts in this positive direction.

Meanwhile, visa demand is surging, especially in key emerging travel markets such as China, India and Brazil. Adding more staff and more resources are part of the answer; we are also piloting creative new approaches, leveraging technology and proven best business practices, to meet this challenge. Over the next two years we plan to introduce a variety of enhancements, including:

* A start-to-finish all-electronic visa process;
* A centralized visa appointment management system that will ensure that over 90% of requests for visa appointments can be handled within 30 business days;
* Technological innovations including remote data collection and interview via digital videoconference.

As we implement our plans, we genuinely welcome suggestions and comments from private sector stakeholders. At the same time, we depend on you and others in the private sector to help spread the word that the U.S. welcomes international visitors and that the visa application process is not a daunting ordeal, as it is sometimes still depicted in the press. News media are quick to report negative stories - many of which recycle complaints about problems that have long since been addressed and solved, or describe increasingly rare instances of long waits for visa approval.

We believe our efforts are striking the right balance between security and openness. The Bureau of Consular Affairs is committed to working with the international business and travel community to maintain and enhance our welcome to legitimate travelers. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Maura Harty
Assistant Secretary
Bureau for Consular Affairs
Department of State
Washington, DC

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