US set to make entry easier for Chinese visitors
By Dong Zhen |
February 10, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Thousands of Chinese applicants for non-immigrant US visas may be excused interviews if they held the same visa previously, it was announced yesterday.
The move, aimed at streamlining the United States' visa process and part of a bid to boost visa processing capacity worldwide, takes effect next Monday.
China currently makes up about 11 percent of the total US visa workload around the world with a million non-immigrant visa applications processed last year in China. The Chinese demand for US visas is growing at 35 percent a year.
"In selected circumstances, some qualified foreign visitors who were interviewed and thoroughly screened in conjunction with a prior visa application may be eligible to renew their visas without undergoing another interview," US Ambassador to China Gary Locke said in Beijing.
Consular officers will be able to skip interviews for qualified non-immigrant applicants who are renewing their visa within 48 months of the expiry of a previous one of the same classification under the new process.
In China, seven visa types such as B (temporary visitors for business/pleasure) and J (exchange visitors) will be covered.
US officials said the seven visa types make up about 95 percent of all visa applications in China at present.
"We expect that this will benefit tens of thousands of applicants in China, saving them time and money, and making it easier for them to travel to the United States more frequently. It will also free our resources to interview more first-time applicants and to do so quickly," Locke said.
"As China develops economically, more of its citizens will want to visit the United States as tourists, on business or for education. We know that travel to the United States will foster a better understanding of our two cultures and peoples," he said.
The US is assigning 50 new consular officers to China to help service the increasing demand for visas.
The visa application facility in Shanghai, on Nanjing Road W, is being expanded at present.
The construction of a new section will be finished in the middle of next year.
The move, aimed at streamlining the United States' visa process and part of a bid to boost visa processing capacity worldwide, takes effect next Monday.
China currently makes up about 11 percent of the total US visa workload around the world with a million non-immigrant visa applications processed last year in China. The Chinese demand for US visas is growing at 35 percent a year.
"In selected circumstances, some qualified foreign visitors who were interviewed and thoroughly screened in conjunction with a prior visa application may be eligible to renew their visas without undergoing another interview," US Ambassador to China Gary Locke said in Beijing.
Consular officers will be able to skip interviews for qualified non-immigrant applicants who are renewing their visa within 48 months of the expiry of a previous one of the same classification under the new process.
In China, seven visa types such as B (temporary visitors for business/pleasure) and J (exchange visitors) will be covered.
US officials said the seven visa types make up about 95 percent of all visa applications in China at present.
"We expect that this will benefit tens of thousands of applicants in China, saving them time and money, and making it easier for them to travel to the United States more frequently. It will also free our resources to interview more first-time applicants and to do so quickly," Locke said.
"As China develops economically, more of its citizens will want to visit the United States as tourists, on business or for education. We know that travel to the United States will foster a better understanding of our two cultures and peoples," he said.
The US is assigning 50 new consular officers to China to help service the increasing demand for visas.
The visa application facility in Shanghai, on Nanjing Road W, is being expanded at present.
The construction of a new section will be finished in the middle of next year.
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