by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:30 AM ET, Tue February 14, 2023
The U.S. Travel Association worked with a bipartisan group of 44 mayors and officials representing American cities and counties to send a letter to the government asking for the reduction of visitor visa interview wait times.
The group's joint letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken claims that visitor visa interview wait times "persistently remain above 400 days for would-be travelers from key international inbound markets."
Among the letter signees were mayors of New York, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Dallas, Las Vegas, Charlotte, San Francisco, Seattle, Nashville, New Orleans and Orlando. Los Angeles City Council also passed a motion recommending federal policy changes to reduce visitor visa interview wait times.
"As a lingering result of the pandemic's peak, a severe backlog in the processing of U.S. visitor visas is now delaying-in some instances well over a year-the visitation of foreign travelers from key markets who provide much-needed economic and diplomatic benefits to the nation," the letter said.
The mayors offered four recommendations to accelerate visitor visa processing, including setting clear timelines to restore efficient processing, reinstating the Executive Order to provide interview appointments for 80 percent of nonimmigrant applicants within 21 days or less, increasing consular staffing and extending interview waivers for applicants who are considered low risk through 2024.
The letter said visa processing delays are detrimental to restoring the inbound travel sector and the broader U.S. economic recovery. The group added that increased federal attention to this issue is good for the U.S. economy and workforce and our public diplomacy.
"When millions of travelers from around the world safely visit the United States, they return home with countless stories of the experiences that only America can provide," the letter continued.
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