It has been exactly one year since the U.S. government re-opened the borders to international passengers arriving by air, and there are still visa wait times of 400+ days in some countries.
“While other economic factors may be out of our control, reducing visitor visa wait times is easily within the Biden administration’s reach if only they would make it a priority,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman.
During the week of November 28, U.S. Travel will launch a new effort to highlight the very voices most affected by egregious visa delays, including potential business travelers whose U.S. visits are delayed by inefficiencies in State Department processing, as well as U.S. business interests who are feeling the pain of lost travel spending at a time it’s most needed.
This will include a custom web site, in English and other languages, to capture the perspectives of potential visitors as well as U.S. businesses. The site will:
- Invite affected global travelers to share a testimonial about waiting for a U.S. visitor visa;
- Invite U.S. small business owners and managers to provide statements of missed business opportunities associated with fewer international visitors;
- Host fact sheets and data that detail U.S. economic losses due to excessive wait times;
- Highlight policy priorities to help alleviate the backlog and expedite processing in key foreign source markets of travel to the U.S.
- It will also be featured on social media across multiple platforms using the hashtag #TheyWaitWeLose.
See U.S.Travel’s complete list of visa wait times here.
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