U.S. to Speed up Visa Processing for Chinese

According to Minister Counselor for consular affairs at the US embassy in Beijing, Mr. Charles Bennett the U.S. was planning a new system to make the interview scheduling process as easy as "booking an airplane ticket" online. He expects that the new system would do better than the call center which currently charges per minute. The new system is considered one of many attempts by the U.S to welcome more Chinese citizens and investors to the U.S.

In addition, the U.S is planning to ease the entry process for Chinese visitors to the U.S by reducing the interview-screening process, building a new consulate in Guangzhou and expanding current offices.

"If we can make some of these changes, and certainly add people and make our processes a little more efficient, it's going to benefit everybody," Bennett stated.

It is estimated that processing a U.S. visa application can take up to 100 days during the summer. The U.S. hopes that increasing staff and eliminating inefficiencies in the application process will shorten waiting times for visitors to the U.S. The changes will meant that Chinese visitors will no longer have to plan their trips to the U.S. up to three months in advance during the peak season.

For Chinese business travelers to the U.S, a quicker interview process during peak season will help them catch golden opportunities. "Sometimes it's not possible to plan a couple months ahead, sometimes you can lose opportunities," says Chris Murck, president of Beijing American Chamber of Commerce. He also added that it would be better to limit the processing time to two weeks.

The U.S. has seen a dramatic increase in the demand for visas for Chinese nationals over the ast two years despite 36 percent of businesses complaining about difficulties and wait times.

According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce, there were about 800,000 Chinese visitors to the U.S in 2010 which is more than double the number compared with figures of 10 years ago. In terms of the visitors' spending, tourists, businesspeople and students contributed $5 billion to the US economy in 2010.

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